23 - 25 July 2021: Wine, Whales & Music

Come and join in on our 3-day celebration filled with wine, stories, jazz, chocolate, whale watching and so much more!

De Hoop Collection takes great pleasure in inviting you to its 2021 Wine Whales & Music Weekend, a three-day celebration of wine, whales and music from Friday 23 to Sunday 25 July 2021.

De Hoop Collection, a hallmark Cape Country Routes property in the pristine De Hoop Nature Reserve with accommodation ranging from affordable self-catering chalets to upmarket fully catered lodges, is the perfect destination for a weekend getaway.

The 2021 Wine Whales & Music Weekend is a fabulous profusion of wine tastings, high tea, gourmet dinners, special performances by jazz duo ‘Hanna and Bram’ on Friday evening, and the world-class ensemble Whale Time Serenade with celebrated musicians Malané Hofmeyr-Burger on flute, Peta-Ann Holdcroft on cello, Irina Tsoniff and Ivo Ivanov on violin, and Vladimir Ivanov on viola. Workshops on chocolate-making with Richard von Geusau, and pizza-making sponsored by Gideon Milling, guided marine and bird walks and whale-watching. And adding to the mix, De Hoop Collection is delighted to announce that Professor Mike Bruton will be the guest speaker - he will be talking about Finding Old Fourlegs: The Remarkable Story of the Coelacanth, a fascinating and unique South African story.

"I‘ll be reviewing the whole coelacanth saga with digital slides and will bring the story up-to-date with the discovery of a living specimen off the coast of KZN by amateur divers in late November 2019. I’ll also be covering aspects of marine conservation and exploration, emphasising how little we actually know about our marine life and how ‘citizen’ scientists can make meaningful contributions in this regard."

Wine Whales & Music Weekend Itinerary

Friday: 23 July 2021

 • 4pm - Nature Drive with delicious canapés and drinks (R375 per person, kids u/12 half price)

 • 6pm - Wine tasting with Sijnn Winesin Fig Tree Restaurant

 • 7pm - Gourmet Dinner with wine pairings by Sijnn Wines and a musical evening with the jazz duo Hanna and Bram in the Fig Tree Restaurant

Saturday: 24 July 2021

 • 8am - Guided Bird Walk along the Vlei (R175 per person, half price kids u/12)

 • 8 - 10:30am - Breakfast

 • 10am - Chocolate-making workshop with Richard von Geusau (R100 per person, R50 kids u/12)

 • 11am - 3pm - Wine, Beer, Gin and Cheese Tasting - enjoy a selection of wines and cheeses from local wineries and cheese farms

 • 11:30 - 2:30pm - Pizza workshop - learn to make your own dough and create your own pizza (R120 per person, R60 children u/12)

 • 3pm - High Tea in the Cloete Room

 • 3.30pm - ‘Finding Old Fourlegs: The Remarkable Story of the Coelacanth’ with Professor Mike Bruton

 • 7pm - Whale Time Serenade for strings and flute - featuring world-class musicians Irina Tsoniff, Ivo Ivanov on violin and Vladimir Ivanov on Viola, Peta Ann Holdcroft on cello and Malané Hofmeyr-Burger on Flute - with Dinner in Fig Tree Restaurant.

Sunday: 25 July 2021

 • 8am - Breakfast

 • 9am - Checkout (if going to Koppie Alleen)

 • 10am - Guided Marine Walk at Koppie Alleen (where the coastline is exactly as it ought to be - unspoilt and brimming with life) watching the whales with Prof Bruton and De Hoop’s expert guides

For more information, contact De Hoop Collection.