This July, Fairview has teamed up with our long-time friend and favoured food blogger and chef, Nina Timm from My Easy Cooking, to bring our Fairview visitors two different cooking demos. Expect to enjoy delicious snacks and learn easy and fun recipes using Fairview’s homegrown ingredients. The concept of these events is for everyone – whether you don’t know how to boil an egg or can make a soufflé from scratch – with the main goal being to learn the value in using farm fresh, farm to fork ingredients and how to incorporate Fairview’s range of artisanal products into your everyday cooking. Check out the information below, and make sure to book your tickets!

EVENT 1:
7th July: Saturday morning Cheese Demo in our Fairview Deli

This demo is for any and all visitors to the Fairview Tasting Room!
There will be 2 sessions: 10am and 11.15pm, each 1 hour long.
4-6 recipes will be covered during each session

Recipes will include:

Mini Cheese fondues with tempura broccoli
Sushi stacks
Camembert poppers with tomato chilli jam
Greek salad with crumbed feta
Free range Boerewors
Fresh bread, olive oil and butter

Cost: Free! 
Limited Spacing: Just come early to secure a spot 

EVENT 2:
14th July: Cooking with Fairview & Nina Timm
Food demo followed by lunch at the Goatshed Restaurant 

Fairview and Nina Timm invite you to come join us in an exclusive, limited seating session aimed at showcasing various recipes using Fairview cheese, followed by a delicious Goatshed light-style harvest lunch that incorporates our freshest, wholesome ingredients. Guests will start at 11am in the Cheese Deli to learn from Nina as she creates her delicious, cheese-full creations and pairs them with our finest Fairview wines, before moving through to the Goatshed at 12pm, where tapas-style fare will be served alongside Fairview wine. This event is ideal for any foodie who is craving an informative and fun session, delicious food and wants to walk away with an inventory of ideas to make at home!

Kindly note: If you are interested in attending this event, please book tickets below. Space is limited.

Recipes will include:

Food Demonstration Menu – 11am

Tomato Tarte Tatin with goats cheese
Free range roast pork belly
Lemon posset with berry could and shortbread biscuits

Lunch Menu ( family style sharing plates ) – 12pm
Roast pork belly
Lamb shank pie
Free range Boerewors
Greek Salad
Green beans with Cheese Crumbs
Roasted vegetables with lemon, olive oil and garlic
Fresh bread

Dessert
Lemon posset with berry compote and shortbread biscuits.

Cost: R195 per person including the food demo and lunch
Limited Seating: Only twenty 20 tickets available
Tickets available via Quicket.

We look forward to seeing you there! Until then, For now, have a look at some of the tasty meals that Nina Timm has concocted using Fairview’s cheeses or check out her website here for more information:

Introducing Nina Timm

Easy Cheese Fondue with Tempura Broccoli

Spicy Lamb Goats cheese Pizza with fresh figs

Spinach Soup with Tempura Cheese

The post Cooking with Fairview & Nina Timm appeared first on Fairview.

As the cold winter days arrive in full force, there is one bright silver lining for most school children – the winter term break! While drinking hot chocolate and cosying up under blankets watching family favourite movies definitely sounds tempting, we also know that it might lead to some cabin fever after a few days!

That’s why Fairview invites you to bring the whole family to the Fairview farm on Sundays during the school holiday! Once again, we’ve enlisted the talents of Fern from Art4Kids who will be offering kids art activities in the afternoons at the Gallery Studio (just behind the Beryl Back Master Tasting Room).

Starting from this Sunday 17th June (just in time for Father’s Day) and every Sunday during the school holidays, we invite children to take part in a ceramics art afternoon event. Spend the day ceramic painting a unique art piece!

The post Winter Holidays | Kids Art Classes at Fairview! appeared first on Fairview.

Jessica is the current Secretary of the Fairview Fairtrade Premium Committee (the “FPC”), which is the elected body responsible for managing the Fairtrade Premium on behalf of the Fairtrade beneficiaries (the vineyard and cellar team). She visited Kenya for 6 days, receiving a tour of some of the Fairtrade initiatives such as coffee bean plantations in between attending the busy conference.

The conference was the sixth edition of the Africa Fairtrade Convention (AFC). This is the flagship Fairtrade event held with the objective of discussing how partnerships on Fairtrade contribute toward the Sustainable Development Goals and improve the livelihoods of farmers and workers in Africa and the Middle East.

It is thanks to people like Jessica and the Fairtrade Premium committee that Fairview is proud to also announce that we have officially completed the 2017 Fairtrade audit and received confirmation that Fairview’s Fairtrade certification remains in good standing. Here’s to the team!

Here are some snaps from Jessica’s trip (including visiting the coffee bean plantations):

The post Fairview & Fairtrade Takes You Places! | Jessica Hector appeared first on Fairview.

In 2015, I met Diane de Villiers – a super smart and successful businesswoman with as much drive and passion for her business, that she reminded me of me! Her business – Daily Dish – was ingenious, offering delicious pre-packaged dinner boxes delivered straight to your door. After learning about her pioneering initiative that started in 2013, I knew I wanted to get involved and partner with her and her incredible team – and so that’s exactly what I did!

The reason I did this is because Daily Dish’s offering, just like Fairview, is centred around bringing you only the highest quality, fresh, seasonal, local, and sustainably produced food. If you’re a working mother or convenience junkie looking to find an easy way to put delicious, freshly prepared food on your table every day but simply don’t have the time to head to the grocery shops – then Daily Dish has you covered.

I’ve watched from the sidelines as Daily Dish has risen to success year-on-year, gathering a committed following of regular ‘subscribers’ that love having an answer to the sometimes dreaded question of ‘what’s for dinner?’ every night.

Diane and her team have become experts at selecting suitable recipes from their inventory of 3,500 dishes, matching and pairing them to your weekly box and ensuring that the fresh and dry produce are delivered straight to your door or office in a nifty, refrigerated box that keeps your food cold for up to 24 hours (I’ve tested it – it works!). Another reason I am proud to be collaborating with the Daily Dish team is that they endeavour to continually innovate and accommodate. For example, one can select from 6 different dinner box options depending on your dietary requirements. This includes everything from a Classic Box, to Family, Banting, Vegan, Goodie and Pork-Free Box (ideal for me!).

As Fairview works our way towards being more sustainable, we are able to offer the Daily Dish subscribers our wide variety of artisanal cheeses, olive oil, breads and deli products. Some of Fairview’s experimental wines which are not widely available to the general public will also occasionally be included in the boxes. In the coming months, we will be working with Diane and her team more closely. I recommend you head to their website – www.dailydish.co.za – and sign up to their newsletters to look out for some exciting specials, and naturally, keep up to date with our extended family.

For now – we look forward to helping you share amazing home-cooked dishes with people you care about.

– Charles Back

VISIT DISH DISH: www.dailydish.co.za

The post Our Friends at Daily Dish appeared first on Fairview.

At Fairview, we have a shared passion for ethical and authentic produce, prepared with love. To produce fantastic produce – whether it is our wine, cheese, vegetables or meat, it all starts with sustainable and holistic farm practices. Over the years,  our team has been implementing better practices to ensure we can always yield the best results. Here are just some of the ways we have been doing this:

HEALTHY SOIL:

We believe healthy plants begin with healthy soil. Healthy plants mean less pests and disease. In and amongst various techniques we are currently using to keep our soil in the best of health such as crop rotation, mulching and  composting, we have also started planting Lupins, a flowering plant, in the weaker soils. Lupins are wonderful as they fix nitrogen in the soil from the atmosphere, thus acting like a natural fertiliser. We will dig up these plants next year and replace them with proper crops.

GROWING OUR OWN WHEAT:

We’re growing our own wheat! We have planted 250 hectares of wheat, as we have a 100 ton per year requirement to make our own bread.

FEED FOR OUR ANIMALS:

Over the years, we have planted 120 hectares of feed for our animals. Fairview is home to five key types of livestock – poultry, pigs and beef cattle, goats and sheep. They serve to supply the restaurant, produce milk for our cheese and produce store under our ‘farm to table’ model, as well as help to maintain and improve the health of our soil. Healthy soil means healthy plants, which in turn means better quality produce. Our animals are free to roam as much as possible, fed a natural, varied diet and treated with compassion and respect by our farmers. We welcome you to watch our animals, but please do not touch.

GOATSHED RESTAURANT 

Sourcing from the surrounding fields and pasture, as well as other local farms, the Goatshed Restaurants highlights the abundance of our Paarl-based farm and valley. Every week, our chefs team brainstorm and curate a weekly special so that all our guests are offered a multi-taste feast featuring the best offerings from the field. As of late, we’ve also introduced a Wine on Tap concept to our restaurant, meaning the wine comes straight from the cellar and is available on ‘draught’. There are various benefits about wine on tap, with one of the key factors being that it is more environmentally friendly. The Goatshed’s ‘no-fuss’ way of dining and commitment to buying locally farmed produce makes us proud to be seen as frontrunners in conscious consumption and a hit with visitors who are recognising the love of real food.

The post Sustainable Growth | Fairview’s Efforts towards a Holistic Farm appeared first on Fairview.

Mother block vineyards are just like what they sound – the first vines to be grown in a region that give rise to the rest of the same variety’s vines in that region. At Fairview, we are very fortunate and proud to have the original mother block of Viognier, planted in 1997 by Charles Back.

Charles desire to bring the aromatic white variety to the Cape stemmed from a visit to France’s Rhône region in 1989. During his trip, he tried Viognier for the first time, and explains how he was immediately struck by the unique nature of the wine, with its intriguing balance of fragrance, deep fruit and austere structure.

“I knew at once that the terroir of the Cape would be well-suited to Viognier, and as we tasted the wines I was thinking about the soils and sites that I was fortunate enough to have found come across over the years,” shares Charles.

When he returned to South Africa, Charles carefully started the process of sourcing the vines to bring to South Africa – a lengthy, complicated and often laborious process. It’s not easy bringing a foreign vine to local soils! But being determined, by the early 1990’s, Fairview was harvesting fruit from our Viognier vineyards.

Today, our trellised Viognier vines grow on the slopes of Paarl Mountain, on decomposed granite soils. Despite the beating summer sun, the resilient grape results in full, ripe and healthy grapes, and after maturation in bottle, shows its well-loved subtle perfumed fruit and great mouthfeel with every vintage.

In 2017, we celebrated 10 years of bottling this varietal. Our Fairview winemakers enjoy sculpting this variety into various styles, including as a single variety (try our Fairview Viognier), as well as being the frontrunner in our unique Brut MCC, and a leading component of our celebrated Nurok white blend. It’s even featured in our Goats Do Roam White Blend and Goat Roti!

Viognier is very flexible, working in a wide variety of seafood, roasted or grilled chicken, pork, spicy flavors and Asian cuisine. A Malay curry with delicate spice and dried fruits is particularly delicious when paired with Viognier. This Mother’s Day, our recommendation is to grab yourself a bottle (or two) of our very own mother block wine, Fairview Viognier, and celebrate!

The post Our Mother Block | Viognier appeared first on Fairview.

Curated and supervised by Fern, owner of Art4Kids, your children can enjoy a unique experience, aimed at creating an artwork.
There are 3 different options to choose from:

1) CREATE-ON-CANVAS: R100 / 90 mins
Children choose their subject from a book and are guided from start to end.

2) PAINT AN ART BOX: R100 / 90mins
Decorate and stencil onto a wooden box. This can hold a notebook, has a slide lid and can also be used to hold art supplies and stationary. Perfect for a gift!

3) CREATE A SPIN ART CARD:  R40 / card
This is a short activity where your child pours paint onto a spinning card and creates a colourful artwork! For spin groups of five, kids can stay for 30 minutes. Don’t forget to ask for your goat stencil!

To avoid disapointment, ensure to book with Fern via SMS or email:
082 313 0712 / fern@wishbone.co.za

AVAILABLE DATES:

• Saturday, 31st March
• Sunday, 1st April
• Monday, 2nd April
• Tuesday, 3rd April
• Wednesday, 4th April
• Thursday, 5th April
• Saturday, 7th April
• Sunday, 8th April
  Classes are only available in the afternoon, from 12pm – 5pm

FIND FERN AT THE GALLERY:
Go through the Fairview wine tasting section, walk through the gallery exhibiting area on the left, through the doors to the outside & follow the stone stairs up to the Gallery Studio.

See you there!

The post Art in the Afternoons This Easter Holiday! appeared first on Fairview.

Recently, Flight Network included our tasting room in their ‘fool-proof’ guide to spending 72 hours in Cape Town! We’re so excited to find our Fairview Tasting Room among those on the bucket list destinations! .

According to Flight Network, which is Canada’s leading online international travel agency, travel experts scoured Cape Town for only the best destinations to fill a 3 day getaway with imagination and excitement. The Mother City offers so many wonders to its guests, but Flight Network narrowed down the list to make every second count. According to them Fairview will “sweep you off your feet every second you’re there”.

The writer spoke of our delectable atmosphere, infusing our guests with the exquisite wines for an afternoon of splendour. Our variety of wines are also expertly matched with cheeses to wine and dine the senses. Flight Network’s writer remarked on the friendly environment Fairview offers, perfect for everyone to bond over a delicious array. All travelers and guests who visit us at Fairview know we do things differently. Ingrained in our mission, we hope to achieve a natural, holistic lifestyle which is present in how we create our wines.

With our recognition as a must in a 72 hour Cape Town adventure, we are so excited to welcome new guests to our home. Come visit us for an afternoon of wine tasting led by our knowledgeable hosts and see exactly why our guests with be making more stops here!

Click here to read the full Flight Network article.

The post Our Fairview Tasting Room Recognized as a “Cape Town Necessity” appeared first on Fairview.

South Africa is a country rich in natural resources and biodiversity, which is one of the key areas of attraction for international tourism. However it is also a country that has traditionally been strongly agriculture-oriented and reliant. The key challenge going forward lies in managing the future sustainability of these two sometimes conflicting aspects of our modern society. Many groups within the South African wine industry have long since recognised this challenge, and have been pro-active in pursuing eco-friendly farming methods and practices. Fairview is committed to participate in initiatives that include the following:

Integrated Production of Wine (IPW)

South Africa is the only country in the world to have such an initiative on a national level. The IPW is in place to ensure that grape and wine producers are responsible for their immediate natural environment. An extensive set of vineyard and cellar standards are regularly monitored by way of internal audits and independent auditing. The IPW is not a system of enforcement, but rather a commitment from individual producers to take responsibility for their practices. For more information on IPW visit www.ipw.co.za.

Biodiversity in Wine (BWI)

One of the key WOSA (Wines of South Africa) initiatives in the international promotion of South African wine has been the campaign highlighting the biodiversity of the Western Cape. The region is one of the world’s few floral kingdoms: an area covering just 0.05% of the earth’s surface and it is home to roughly 3% of the earth’s plant species. Fairview’s commitment to being a BWI member includes not planting or uplifting any vineyards where natural Fynbos exists, maintaining a management agreement with Cape Nature Conservation (who oversees the Fynbos areas), conserving the water resources on the farm and ensuring safe and sustainable practices in the cellar. For more information on BWI visit www.bwi.co.za.

Sustainable Wine South Africa

From the 2010 vintage, all wine producers who are members of both the IPW and BWI are allowed to include the Integrity & Sustainability seal to their wines. This seal certifies that the wine comes from a sustainable and eco-friendly source – traceable from vineyard to cellar. This initiative is unwritten by Wines of South Africa (WOSA), the Wine and Spirit Board, BWI and IPW. For more information visit www.swsa.co.za.

The future for Fairview

Since 2010, all our wines have carried the Integrity & Sustainability seal. This certifies that we are committed to the agreed standards set by the four organisations involved.

Fairview aims to:

• Uphold the standards set by the participating organisations.
• Use environmentally-friendly products, in both the vineyard and cellar.
• Continue the eradication of alien vegetation on the property – both in agricultural and natural areas.
• Plant of indigenous grasses and plants in the vineyards to prevent soil erosion, improve soil condition and create corridors for the safe movement of natural fauna.
• Reduce the carbon emissions in the vineyard and cellar.
• Ensure safe working conditions for all our workers.
• Commit to continued water conservation.
• Keep records of the indigenous fauna and flora on the property.
• Continue to insist on participation in these initiatives from our contractors.
• Further education and training

Charles Back, our humble owner of Fairview, says Fairview will continue working towards becoming a greener, more environmentally aware business. “The company will strive towards innovation and education in the interest of protecting the environment for future generations.”

The post Giving Back to the Environment appeared first on Fairview.

Firstly, the soil is cleared and plowed. After that, careful measurements are made in order to ensure that the rows of vines are as perfectly straight as can be. This allows for easier harvesting later on. As you can see, measuring out an entire block is quite a process in itself!

Donald Mouton, our farm manager, gave the Cinsault planting team a short lesson on the effect that differently dug holes have on grapevine root systems.

In some heavier soils, unless one digs a hole in just the right way, the roots can become constrained and aren’t able to grow in the way that they should. This impacts the ability of the plant to absorb nutrients from the soil, which in turn affects the health of the vines, and ultimately the taste and quality of the wine.

Finally, the new Cinsault vines are planted! After all of the digging and measuring, seeing a field full of the final product is a sight to behold. These vines are destined to become bush vines, and will only be able to be harvested in 2020.

We’re already looking forward to it!

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