South Africa's First Amphora Wine Festival Comes to Lourensford on 29 August

South Africa will host its first-ever Amphora Wine Festival on Saturday, 29 August, at Lourensford Wine Estate in Somerset West. The event, hosted by Wine Machinery Group, runs from 10:00 to 15:00 and brings together more than 30 wineries from across the Western Cape working in one of the world’s oldest winemaking methods: fermenting and ageing wine in clay amphorae rather than steel tanks or oak barrels.

Visitors will be able to taste, explore and buy directly from participating winemakers, with the programme including a talk from the founder of Portugal’s own AmphoraFestival, a nod to the method’s deep roots in the Mediterranean and its growing following among South African producers willing to work with a more hands-off, ancient style of winemaking.

Tickets are R450 per person, available through Webtickets.

Held on the same estate as Total Ninja’s new Somerset West park and the recently reopened Lourensford Market, the festival adds another reason for a Helderberg outing this spring. This one is aimed squarely at serious wine drinkers rather than families with kids in tow.