According to Denzel Swarts, Simonsig Tasting Room Manager, this year’s holiday season began later than usual as visitors from upcountry and overseas spent their first few days experiencing the Cape’s other attractions before hitting the winelands.
“The surge in visitors began around the 20th of December, from which the tasting room and the farm’s other attractions were inundated with tourists from Gauteng, the Free State and overseas countries, especially Sweden, Germany and America,” he says.
The 12 staff conducting tastings of Simonsig’s diverse selection of wines were kept on their toes from opening to closing time.
“Besides the three formal tastings available of our Cap Classique, Cultivar Wines and Family Selection Range, visitors were keen to do cellar- tours, visit the Cuvée Restaurant and enjoy other offerings, such as cheese platters and olives. We are finding visitors spending more time on the wine farm, looking for activities outside of wine-tasting alone – we did up to six cellar tours on some days, for example.”
Denzel noted that while visitor-traffic was slightly down in numbers, people bought more wine from the tasting-room than in the past.
“It was really eye-opening to see novice wine-tasters buying a few cases of wine which they had experienced for the first time,” says Denzel. “Besides our Cap Classique range for which Simonsig is known, people showed huge interest in wines representing a South African character, such as our Redhill Pinotage, the Frans Malan Cape Blend and Chenin Blanc. Red blends were sought after, including the Simonsig Tiara Bordeaux-style blend.”
Many of the first-time visitors were Simonsig drinkers who wanted to experience the home of their favourite wines, while quite a number of guests had popped in to taste wine for the very first time!
“For us doing the tastings for our guests, it is a very rewarding experience introducing people to a product they had never been exposed to before,” says Swarts. “One can learn a lot about people’s impressions of wine, what they do or not like. The fact that many of these first-timers would leave with a few bottles of their new hobby, made it extra rewarding.”