The annual Stoep Tasting Wine Weekend, hosted by Karoo Wine Club, is one of the premier wine tourism weekends in South Africa and showcases top independent wine and spirit producers from South Africa and abroad.
Since inception in Graaff Reinet, Stoep Tasting celebrated its 10th anniversary in May 2023! For the past three years Nieu Bethesda is also incorporated in this event.
Tasters and buyers stroll the streets of these two picturesque Karoo towns, from stoep to stoep, to taste and purchase some of the finest wines.Stoep Tasting also became synonymous with several side events where restaurants offer various food and wine pairing events during the weekend.
Quilt & Wine Pairing at Stoeptasting
A unique pairing of six art quilts with six prizewinning wines from Montpellier de Tulbagh!
The inaugural event took place during the Stoep Tasting event in May 2023 in the Cellar of Bruno’s at the Bethesda in Nieu Bethesda.
Six quilt artists were invited to participate. Each chose and received a specific wine from Montpellier to use as inspiration to create their unique textile art piece.
Quilt & Wine Pairing 2024:
Another six textile artists will be using a specific wine from Montpellier as inspiration to create their unique textile art piece!
Date: Friday, 24 May 2024
Venue: The Cellar at Bruno’s at the Bethesda, Nieu Bethesda.
Time: 11:30
Quilt & Wine Pairing 2023:
As the guests tasted each wine, they were challenged to pair a quilt with that wine.
These pieces will be on display at the Montpellier de Tulbagh wine estate until May 2024.
The Quilt & Wine pairing results – 2023:
Wine: Montpellier MCC Chardonnay
Quilt title: Bubbly, please
Lady Bollinger famously said of this style of wine:
“I drink it when I’m happy and when I’m sad. Sometimes I drink it when I’m alone. When I have company I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I’m not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise, I never touch it – unless I’m thirsty.”
Using a variety of fabrics and yarns, some repurposed and reclaimed, others hand-dyed and painted I have layered these using raw edge appliqué, free motion machine embroidery and quilting techniques to capture the lively and zesty yet elegantly celebratory nature of this wine.
Jeanne de Beer – Jeffreys Bay, Eastern Cape
Wine: Montpellier MCC Pinot Noir
Quilt title: The Pinot Pops
I used Thai silk fabric – the colour of which shows off the MCC Brut Pinot Noir. The bubbles were interpreted by using silk organza and a very fine tulle.
The whole background was hand quilted, representing the texture of the bubbles. Small brass rings were added as the small bubbles trying to escape.
The variegated thread with small bits of green and tiny red beads hint at the berries.
Ina Meyer – Great Brak River, Southern Cape
Wine: Spyseniersberg White Blend
Quilt title: Synthesis
On their company portfolio, Montpellier has the following quote: “Wine is bottled poetry”.
This inspired me to write a haiku which incorporates the characteristics of the wine. The sun-dyed background fabric using plant material is reminiscent of the grapes that need sun to thrive. The four different bottle shapes represent the four cultivars that make up the blend in this wine.
Floral, tropical, fruity and spice are attributes that suggest the green, brown, orange and yellow colours used. The words of the haiku have been added
using silk with the curly fibres symbolizing the tendrils of the vines.
Dal Botha – Pringle Bay, Western Cape
Wine: Montpellier Chenin Blanc
Quilt title: “Chenin Blanc”
The inspiration for this quilt came largely from the colours which I associated with the landscape in which the vines are cultivated, and with the colours found in the wine itself. Therefore I have used earth colours for the terroir, greens for the lands, purples for the surrounding mountains and combinations of yellows/golds/greens for the actual wine, in the background which has been machine quilted.
The contents of the wine glass represent some of the important components of the estate and the winemaking process. I have appliquéd the various shapes of the buildings, bottles and glasses into the central wineglass motif and machine quilted the grape motif over them.
Sheila Walwyn – Cape Town, Western Cape
Wine: Montpellier Cabernet Sauvignon
Quilt title: The whole is greater than the sum of the parts
This statement is as true for the wine as it is true for the quilt. The sky above Montpellier is represented by an antique quilt made in 1916. Vintage tapestry embroidery forms the mountain backdrop, framing the vista of the terroir producing this wine.
Quilt lines imitate the topography in the vineyards. Circular quilting lines represent both the rocky soil type and the shape of the grapes.
The wine’s most prominent characteristic on the nose is the berries. These, together with grapes, are scattered across the quilt landscape.
Wilma Smit – Oudtshoorn, Southern Cape
Wine: Montpellier Shiraz
Quilt title: Winner!
I have tried to capture the essence of this excellent award winning wine and to portray its rich qualities apparent to the nose and palate through my design and choice of colours.
I chose to keep my raw edge appliqué design simple and cubic using fabric as my medium applying acrylic paints, bleach, gold leaf and printing to enhance my design.
Macky Cilliers – Aston Bay, Eastern Cape