News 2010

Expanding our wedding capacity

Just when we promised ourselves we had had  quite enough building, requests for larger weddings and for a chapel in which to marry,  persuaded us otherwise.  We have now roofed in one of the pavilion patios to allow us to take up to 80 people, and we are also renovating 

Conservation   News

 The documents for the Nature Reserve remain on the minister’s desk and we have once again been told `just a little while more’.  Meanwhile we have continued our fight against the aliens, and on the animal front, were delighted to save  a baby owl we found huddled under

Many Guests

2010 began with a steady stream of family groups, workshops and retreats as well as individual guests and visitors. These have brought a wide range of people from all walks of life to the farm, and included our longest catered group thus far –

Becky and Andy

We have been very lucky to have had Becky and Andy from the UK staying with us for 2 months during winemaking. They were amazing - making wine like demons, varnishing all the wood of Fynbos House and cooking up a storm.

Harvest and Winemaking

Fynbos Music Festival

Year-End Fun

The Swartland-Santam Wine Route Day

The house of our friends Christina and her daughter Anna is now completed and we have moved in while they are not in the country. Since this is most of the time, Johan and I have finally separated our working from our living space.  Well sort of… We will also sometimes let out Fynbos House

Aviation Estate News

Province’s response to the Swartland Forum's submission at the scoping stage of the The Malmesbury Aviation Estate was very pleasing as it required the developers and environmental company to amend their report along fundamental lines. So fundamental in fact, that we thought the dreadful development would go away. But it hasn’t - so the struggle continues. For those who don’t know about the estate, it is a proposal for a housing estate 5kms from us, comprising about  350 houses each with its own hanger for microlite, gyrocopter and helicopter plus runways, aprons, fuel storage, offices etc.  Between 40 and 120 flights a day isn’t good news for the Paardeberg or for the region. And since this is just one of a trend to take to the skies for leisure, it also constitutes a threat to the countryside everywhere. For more information on this struggle see www.swartlandforum.yolasite.com

Kay

Kay Stadseck remained here after a spiritual retreat, and thereafter, a bit like a cat, she  moved onto the farm. She works in exchange for board and lodging and will be the third person to offer such help this year. A photographer and graphic artist, Kay has, amongst other 

Mabel hits the big time

The 2008 Sangiovese and the 2009 Galaxy is now bottled and both are delicious. Jack's Red is about to be bottled and will be available in a few weeks. Should you want wine delivered, contact us and put your orders in

For those who don't know about this, there is a proposed estate of about 300 houses most with its own hangar for leisure helicopters, gyrocopters and other light planes The site is 6 Kilometers from us. with 40 - 120 flights proposed daily and various other infrastructure such as offices guest lodge, fuel storage etc . Apart from the effect on us, this has serious implications for Malmesbury, for the Swartland as a whole and for the ;loss of peaceful countryside everywhere. This is because the

We have had wonderful help from our full time staff this year. In addition our Austrian interns Florian and Simon exchanged part time work for board and lodging and Pat Bronner has joined us for one and a half days a week to help with admin

Our mountain hut has been used quite a lot this year and, since we the decision to exchange its use for work, it has been repainted and insulated and work done in the garden. Now we are in search of someone to build a veranda from our gum poles as it can get hellish hot up there in summer. Anyone with those skills who wants to chill out close to nature in exchange, contact us.

With yet another change of environmental minister, the nature reserve is still not through. But progress has been made and we are told it shouldn't be too long.now.  In the meanwhile

Farm work continues, with pruning and suckering of vines; now almost complete and baby olive trees planted and cared for.  We have also spent time improving our mountain road .  For the first time

Despite the recession, bookings have continued to come in and we now are getting wedding enquiries for as late as 2011  We are pleased to see that we appeal to those wanting smaller non glitzy events and hope to tap into this niche market.   As always we have had

Our Sangiovese was awarded 4 stars in top place in the mid year Wine Magazine competition. Sangiovese is a red Italian cultivar from which Chianti is made.

Workshops, wine tastings and visitors

As always we have had a steady stream of bookings for workshops, lunches, wine tastings and weddings.

We have seen tourists, medicinal healers from South America, NGO's, corporates, retirees from the University of the Third Age, and a radio station. 

We have also had Anna and Mario holidaying with us from Germany for a month. They were a great help and much fun. 

At certain times of the year the house will be available for bookings too. We have at the same began the rennovation of the little workers cottage `Sonkop cottage' up under Sonkop peak. We think it will be a charming cottage in a glorious location.

As always, April was our month for picking olives, and this year we hope to get 50 litres of olive oil. The 2008 olive oil is now sold out completely. In place of vineyards pulled out, we are in the process of digging holes and planting about 800 olive trees, mostly for oil and partly for olives.

Fynbos Harvest Fair and Fantastic Party

 We had additional performers including belly dancing, marimbas and gumboot dancers. Another highlight was the after fair party held in the pavilion with the band OFF THE RECORD.  The music was outstanding and the dancing spirited.  We will definitely repeat that one. 

A fire set off (we think) by a harvester's cigarette butt, gave us a bad fright. It began during the afternoon about 200 metres from the house, but thankfully (and atypically) the wind blew westwards that day, so that instead of roaring along to the house, it went more than 500 metres up the mountain, where it was finally put out by fire fighters some 15 hours later  The event was not without its humour.

 less stressful than before and more of our grapes went into the making of our own wines.  This year we have doubled our production bringing  the volume of wine we make up to about 10,000 bottles a year.

On November 5th we held our first Fynbos Summer Fair. We had about 300 visitors, 25 stalls selling wine, farmers' produce, delicious foods, jewelery and various crafts. Events included the Que Paso Salsa Dancers, the Riebeek Steel band and the Stanford 5 Rock band. The Fynbos garden and Dragonridge Pavilion provided a lovely venue and the atmosphere was relaxed and happy. So much so that we are holding a Fynbos Harvest Fair on the 28th March. Almost all stall holders have already put their names down and we look forward to a great celebration. We will keep you posted. To see more fair photos, see our Fynbos Gallery.

Staff Addition and Assistance

Dragonridge Pavilion in Good Use

Since the opening of the Dragonridge Pavilion in August, we have had numerous workshops and retreats which have made varied use of it. These have included company training workshops, a prefect leadership course, a guitar workshop and concert, and Shambhala training. We will be marketing the space for weddings and celebrations in the new year.     For more pictures see Fynbos Gallery.

Harvest and Winemaking 2008

This year's Open Day on the 2nd August was held in the new Pavilion and its surrounding courtyards. It was a great success with a three course lunch and various farm products for sale from cheese and preserves, to essential oils as well as delicious wines for tasting.