La Motte enjoys sharing its passion for art, wine and food and this year for the annual Franschhoek Art in Clay Festival, the estate stays true to this ethos with an inspirational exhibition entitled, A Sense of … This group exhibition in the La Motte Maturation Cellar features 20 local ceramicists, showcasing bespoke ceramic pieces...

The La Motte Sustainable Hike has reopened, and after the winter’s rain, the mountain offers a splendour of indigenous flora and breathtaking vistas of the Franschhoek Valley. A further expression of La Motte’s commitment to the highest conservation and biodiversity standards and the protection of precious indigenous flora and fauna in the mountain area surrounding...

Sometimes there are vintages that, because of an ideal set of conditions, deliver exceptional wines and sometimes one has the luxury of only producing or at least releasing wines from these special years. Most of the time, however, the romantic image of wine production is also guided by commercial means and an established brand has...

Waterblommetjies (Aponogeton distachyos), also known as Cape pondweed, are bulbous plants that thrive in slow- moving water dams, particularly in the Western Cape. The flowers or stems of these plants are used in traditional soups and stews (bredies). Sorrel is a natural accompaniment to waterblommetjies. Cultivated or wild sorrel can be used. If using cultivated...

South Africans are known for their hospitality. In the days of the early Cape, travellers and writers wrote in letters and journals about the kindness with which they were received and catered for, and today still, although it might be on alternative platforms, South Africans are praised for their exceptional hospitality. While in the old...

Food traditions differ among nations and in South Africa, with its rainbow culture, the food culture is all but simple. One of the common customs, however, is our love for cooking over an open fire – therefore, also, why Heritage Day in South Africa is fondly refer to as National Braai Day. But we share...

We often tend to think of wines as being quite seasonal – white in summer and red in winter. But can a wine be better suited to one season than to another? What makes one wine more of a “summer wine” and another more of a “winter wine”? There is no simple formula for wines...

Many people ask “why must I decant a wine?”, “when must I decant a wine?” and “how must I decant a wine”? Decanting is probably one of the most intimidating aspects of wine culture for many wine novices. “Why can’t I just pull the cork (or twist the cap) and enjoy my bottle?” “Why must...

It is seasonal and warming and the perfect recipe for a winter’s weekend. Try a traditional Game Pie from our Cape Winelands Cuisine Cookbook. The traditional method for making game pie by stewing the game with marrow bones and/or strips of unsmoked pork/bacon or mutton tail fat and a combination of spices- such as cloves,...

Before commercial curry powder was available at the Cape, every cook had his or her own recipe for a curry mix. In the Cape's oldest Dutch and Flemish manuscripts, many curry recipes were documented. We chose three of these traditional curry blends (read more below), which we only slightly adapted for use in the modern...