Greeted at 10h30 with the well wooded Eleanor Chardonnay and friendly faces of friends and fellow creatives, Sunday was bound to be as Jesus intended, restful!
We joined Hartenberg Wine Estate, just moments away from Nomad Bistro to discover their incredible patriotic heritage told over wine tasting and offered a tour of the stain-glassed underground cellar which boasts an expansive personal wine collection which left all of us wine lovers pleading to be locked away and the key thrown far far away.
Just a stones throw away from the cellar, a walk along a wooden bridge and under a spring blossomed weeping willow was a communal lunch table truly worth celebrating. As if we were on set of a Pinterest styled shoot the floral arrangements to decor were perfectly co-oordinated. Some of the fruit foliage took me back to glorious memories with my older brother in Durban and how we used to climb trees to get these Loquats and indulge in them in sandwiched in the branches, I couldn’t have been happier!
For lunch we were served more estate Chardonnay, YUM! and various dishes from their new picnic menu and some of the on-site restaurants lighter lunch items too. With it being a long week, I took more to the wine and idea of chilling on the gloriously green lawns rather than lunching so my images die after a few courses but I promise you, the food was beautiful of what i did eat and if you’re looking to forget the world or a space to spend some family time; Picnic’ing at Hartenberg is probably the way to do it.
This season the picnic basket includes the delicious Eleanor’s snoek pâté, a selection of local cheeses and charcuterie with unique accompaniments such as a tasty tomato pesto. It’s suggested that you pre-order your gourmet sandwich filings, delicious quiche du jour and salads.
The sandwich selection includes a pastrami, plaaskaas, rocket and caramelized onion; chicken Caesar with garlic aioli or baby marrow, pesto and Chevin cheese. What to choose?
The quiche selection is even more tempting. Choose between a fig and Blue cheese; bacon, caramelized onion and fresh thyme or smoked Salmon, capers and fresh dill.
Salads season grilled greens, feta and brown rice; new potato, dill, red onion and capers with a vinaigrette or the Asian salad served with a mouthwatering Asian dressing.
The picnic costs R195 per person and includes a bottle of estate wine to share between two.
Children under the age of 12 can also join in on the picnic fun with their own selection of delectable treats, at a cost of R80 per youngster.
If you are looking to have 10 or more guests i would book a Celebration Table as we had which is a slightly more sophisticated offering where you can create curated menus and have the decor arranged for you. Who needs a party planner!?
For more information contact Hartenberg | johann@hartenbergestate.com or 021 865 2541.
I was an invited guest of The Hartenberg Estate, views are my own.
