South African Cheese Festival, Bien Donn, 24 to 27 April 2010
So greatly do South Africans love the chance to sample cheese that the annual South African Cheese Festival was sold out long before the gates opened. The Cape’s perfect autumn weather played its part in making sure the event was well visited and a record 8000 cheese lovers thronged to BienDonn wine farm on the first day of the festival.
The festival boasted over 100 stalls dedicated to cheese makers, wine producers, olive farmers and food artisans. Moving around the giant marquee was a pleasure as taste buds were put to the test with a variety of vintages and strangely-flavoured cheeses. From brie and brut to stilton and sherry, the combination of cheese, wine and general good cheer made this a day to diarise again next year.
A common find at these sorts of events is an abundance of jolly cheese makers. They are generally never short of a story or two and have more than enough time to give you an in-depth explanation on their many cheeses. Such is the case that one should be quick and polite as possible, sample the different cheeses and move on, otherwise you may never get round to the other stores.
Wine tasting is by no means a second string at this event. The organisers made sure that every few stalls were filled with different vintages for the masses to wet their palates. This also attracts many connoisseurs, some professional and elegant, and some perhaps not too subtle in demonstrating their student lifestyle.
If you haven’t been to a cheese or wine festival yet, you should probably make a note of the next one in your area. This weekend is the Olive Festival in the Riebeek Valley, Western Cape, and the Stellenbosch Wine Festival is the first weekend in July.
See you there.
