The wine routes of the Western Cape are just one type of iconic attraction that draws visitors to this southwestern corner of South Africa. This June, you can discover why for yourself! Occurring from Thursday, June the 2nd to Sunday, June the 5th, is the Wacky Wine Weekend, hosted by Robertson Wine Valley, taking place in Robertson, Ashton, Bonnievale and McGregor. This 13th instalment of the popular event will feature the participation of a sweeping number of the finest wineries, boutique wineries and tourist establishments situated in a picturesque valley.

This event will cater to the whole family with activities and attractions including wine tasting, fine dining, kids play areas, golf, trail runs, a colour run, rugby, mountain biking and so much more! There will additionally be live entertainment, in various genres such as rock, blues, jazz, classic and country, offered by the likes of local artists including Bottomless Coffee, Manouche, Karen Zoid and much more. This outdoor adventure will surely warm your spirits this winter and  just serves to show you that you can still enjoy a wonderful vacation in the Western Cape any time of the year. The event comes at an affordable cost, further ensuring that you can save even more on the holiday experience in this beautiful country.

The establishments that are involved

Each of these alluring participating establishments will host its own activities during the weekend besides the wine tastings. The festival hours are as follows:

Some establishments may have activities after the hours set above, but you can get that information by consulting the programme (more on that below).

The different establishments are below:

For the programme, you can check out by following this link: http://www.wackywineweekend.com/images/docs/wacky-wine-programme.pdf

The cost

For this event, only one item guarantees your entry: the Wacky Passport. It costs only R 150. You can buy a ticket online from Webtickets and when you get to the venue, you just need to exchange your ticket for the Wacky Passport. This passport grants entry to the whole weekend, and includes a wine glass, water, programme, goodie bag, tasting vouchers for each winery and a wristband (it’s important to wear the wristband at all times, participating wineries will not let you enter without it). Kids (under 18) get free entry.

Getting around

You have a few options for travelling from winery to winery. We can assist you with accommodation. The organisers have offered a bus service for day in-and-out trips . You can get a group together at one address and the bus will collect you. This hired vehicle will be yours for travel between the various wineries and will be available from 08:00 to 19:00. If you require the service after 19:00, you will need to request this in advance with the driver (at an extra cost). Alternatively, if you’re travelling alone, you could take the Wacky Fun Bus, which departs the V&A Waterfront, Tyger Valley, Stellenbosch (Butterfly World – extra transport is available from Stellenbosch to Butterfly World) and Paarl on Saturday, the 4th of June, from 08:00 to 09:00 and return at 18:00. For more information and booking your seats, you can contact A2B Charters telephonically at +27(0)83 258 4769 or via email at info@a2bcharters.co.za.

Local taxis are available as well. You can use the contact details below to get in touch. Please note that you will need to discuss the rate with the driver in advance.

The organisers of the Wacky Wine Weekend have additionally put together a list of designated drivers. You can check all their contact details by following this link: http://www.wackywineweekend.com/designated-drivers. Prices may vary between drivers, depending on the size of your group and your requirements.

If you’d prefer to explore the wineries at your own place with your friends and family, you or one of your buddies could buy the Designated Driver’s Ticket, which is basically the same as the Wacky Passport but without the wine glass and tasting vouchers. It costs R 150.

For those out of the country, the company Beyond Reach has organised flight and car rental packages. All packages are per person sharing and subject to availability. Make sure to book early as it will be cheaper the sooner you do.  You can get in touch with them telephonically at +27(0)23 614 3937 or via email at info@beyondreachafrica.co.za.

General information

If you should have any other questions, you can get in touch with Robertson Wine Valley at +27(0)23 626 3167, at admin@robertsonwinevalley.com or visit the event website at www.wackywineweekend.com. Their office is at the corner of Voortrekker & Reitz Street, Robertson. You can consult the map below for directions to their office as well as for the location of the various towns which will be involved for the Wacky Wine Weekend.

You’re all set then

Now that you have all the information, you’d better start booking your tickets and arranging your transport. This event just shows you that there is always something do in the Western Cape, no matter what the time of year. In less than a month, the Wacky Wine Weekend kicks off! Call your family and friends, and start making plans to have a wonderful time this winter with Roberson Wine Valley.