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!

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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!

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Let your kids get creative this Holiday at our Fairview Farm! We are excited to announce that we have Fern from Art4Kids presenting Kids Art Activities this holiday – EVERY DAY – up and till the 24 December (10.30 – 3pm). Find your way to the Barn Artist Gallery Studio for fun filled kids art entertainment!

To avoid any disappointments – Please make booking arrangements with  Fern@wishbone.co.za.
SMS your confirmation bookings to: 082 313 0712

Fern will be keeping the kids busy with the following art activities:

~ Stencil your own wooden art box to take home

~ Create a canvas Painting

~ Create 3 x  Art Spin Cards

Each art activity costs R100 & takes 40 to 60 minutes, age dependant.

Fern puts together her spin art speciality a fun art activity where you get to pour an array of paint onto a spinning card. After that you have the option to stencil a goat onto your art piece.

Fill up your holiday with some colourful art fun for the kids at Fairview. Enough time for kids to be creative & adults to grab a tasting.

Where to find ART4KIDS at Fairview:

Venture through the wine tasting room, turn left into the gallery showroom, venture through the Gallery glass doors, through the wine tasting garden & follow the granite garden stairs up to the Gallery studio.

Art4Kids with Fern where imagination meet the canvas.

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Baby Toby

From the start, Toby was different. Born 30^th June 2014, Tobias do Roam aka Toby came into the world with an immediate identity crisis and unusual brown and black markings, making him stand out from the crowd. So much so that his initial owners mistook him for a little lamb, and sold him onto Fairview’s farm manager, Donald Mouton, who would come to be Toby’s much loved, adopted dad.

Upon arrival at the Fairview barn, Toby was immediately kidnapped, but not the type you’re thinking of. In goat culture, the nanny goats, being particularly maternal, all vied to mother young Toby, and eventually a few lucky nanny’s ‘kidnapped’ the kid goat and raised him to be one of them. Or so they thought …

Toby, without even trying, stands out from the crowd

Toby and his best bud, Inkukhu the Ostrich

From the start, Toby showed extreme independence – with a capricious nature in his DNA, unafraid of climbing and always looking for new opportunities, he soon grew out of his sweet kid years and became a somewhat rebellious teen, sneaking out of the barn at night and spending his time with the rabble-rouser Inkhuku the ostrich, a long-standing resident of the farm who shared Toby’s species confusion, as she was raised by chickens. Perhaps bonding over their similarities or simply becoming the best of friends, to this day, you’re likely to spot Toby and Inkhuku roaming the Fairview grassy paths like infantry.

Growing into a charming adult goat, Toby proceeded to jump the barn walls (with complete ease, as the walls are low and goats are built to climb) on a regular basis. His favourite activity was to roam the vineyards, hunting for his favourite thing – perfectly ripe grapes from some of our Mediterranean vines. To the delight and surprise of our winemakers, Toby had a real knack for isolating some of the finest blocks of the vineyards where only the best berries grew, and soon enough, he persuaded a few more goats to roam the farm with him. Toby’s unusual, quirky sense of adventure served as the inspiration for our Goats Do Roam range, which sprouted in 2000, and has come to be the best selling South African wine brand abroad.

Today, Toby enjoys spending his time being official ‘cheese taster’ at the cheese factory and of course, mowing the lawn.
Our Goats Do Roam range is available on our online shop. Click here to explore.

Donald Mouton, our ‘goat whisperer’, with one of our precious Nanny Goats

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Every September, here at Fairview we get ready for exciting changes. It is spring, and the time of year when the most important residents of the farm, the Fairview goats, welcome their newly born kids. This special period is referred to as kidding season (we’re not joking) and it brings a wealth of happiness to the farm.

During kidding season, visitors have the opportunity of interacting with the farm’s baby goats. Not only can you play with the new kids but you can also feed them by purchasing a bag of goat food for R10, with a R2 donation going to the Animal Welfare Society for every bag sold.

“During kidding season last year, we decided to bring the goat kids up next to the Tasting Room to give our visitors a chance to interact with our beloved farm mascots,” says Charles Back, owner of Fairview. “We received such an overwhelmingly positive response that we have since created a large paddock for the kids to take up permanent residence right next to our original Goat Tower.”

The new paddock boasts South Africa’s first-ever goat skywalk bridge which spans the main entrance. The bridge allows the goats to roam from the farm’s renowned Goat Tower across the path to the other side of the garden where the paddock is situated. A bigger and more exciting playground to explore, the paddock features surfboards, seesaws and other fun obstacles.

Goat kids love to play and they also love to interact with people. They are very used to humans because they are hand-reared and bottle-fed three times a day after spending their first week or so with their mother nanny goats.The goat kids grow up fast and each has its own adorable personality.

During kidding season, the nanny goats get to rest as they need to produce milk for their newly born kids. Producing milk requires energy and nutrients, which is why the herd’s diet is so important at this stage. When the nannies are pregnant all of their energy and nutrients go towards their growing kids. Fairview’s goat’s milk production slows down for a few weeks and the farm produces less goat’s milk cheese, which is why fewer of Fairview’s goat’s milk products will be on the shelf at the supermarket at this specific time. This is to ensure that the goat herd is healthy and strong.

Goat’s milk cheese continues to grow in popularity and as a result, demand has increased. Be sure to grab your goat’s milk Chevin cheeses before stock runs low over the next few weeks. Fairview offers a selection of Chevin cheeses in different flavours such as traditional, garlic and herb, and black pepper and paprika. The Chevin cheeses retail for about R42 per unit at supermarkets nationwide or at the Shop & Deli on the farm, where delicious preserves and freshly baked breads are also available.

Aside from all the fun interaction with the furry kids, adults can kick back and experience the wine tasting options at our Tasting Room, or indulge in the delicious country-style menu available at the Goatshed restaurant (which also has a kids menu).

Kicking off on the 9th September (at the La Capra Goat Run event), we invite you all to bring your own kids and come visit the most-loved members of Fairview as we welcome their new kids on the block!

For more information please call 021 863 2450.

Follow @fairviewwineandcheese on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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Easter is around the corner, and we have great news – our roads are finally open, meaning no more roadworks! To celebrate this and this special family time, we’re making farm-fresh hot cross buns as a welcome to visitors on the farm. We’ll be open every day across the long weekend, and rest assured, we’ll have plenty to keep you entertained!

For the little ones, our Goat Paddock and Goat Sky Bridge have been a happy hit, and all are welcome to purchase a bag of goat food for R10 to give to Billy and his goat kids as they hop, skip and jump between the Goat Tower and paddock. Meanwhile, for the older members of the family, why not book a tutored 1-hour Master tasting to experience some of Fairview’s finest wines, or head to our country-style eatery, the Goatshed, where you can savour a bottle or two of our lovely Fairview wine paired with the hearty fare? There’s a kiddies menu of course, for when your kids tire of petting our own baby goat kids.

Throughout the Easter weekend, Friday, 14 April – Monday, 17 April 2017, the Farmshop & Deli will be open, selling our artisanal cheeses, farm-reared meat and other treats to enjoy at home.

See you soon!

Bookings essential.
Master Tasting: 021 863 2450
Goatshed Restaurant: 021 863 3609 or book online – https://www.fairview.co.za/goatshed/

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The new skywalk bridge will take the goats from the Goat Tower, across the path to the other side of the garden, where their newly built paddock welcomes them. Here, guests can watch the baby kid goats as they take turns on a “goat see-saw”, balance on a “surfboard” and climb and play on a number of other obstacles. This bigger and fun-filled playground is perfect not just for Fairview’s precious goats, but the whole family, too. Visitors can feed the goats by purchasing a bag of goat food for R10, with a R2 donation going to the Animal Welfare Society for every bag sold.

“During kidding season this year, we decided to bring the goat kids up next to the Tasting Room to give our visitors a chance to interact with our beloved farm mascots,” says Charles Back. “We received such an overwhelmingly positive response that, we created a large paddock for the kids to take up permanent residence right next to our Goat Tower. Here, under the shade of the oak trees, all are welcome to say hello to our goats and build lasting friendships with them. To ensure our older goats don’t feel left out, we’ve added a skywalk from the Goat Tower into the grassy paddock, encouraging cross-generational interaction,” adds Back.

Bring your kids and grab freshly made smoothies or frozen yoghurts from the outdoor bar to cool down, while special boerewors rolls will be on sale. Adults can kick back and experience the wine tasting options in the tasting room, or indulge in the delicious country style menu available at the Goatshed restaurant. Come and visit – there’s new kids on the block! Check out our gallery below:

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