St Francis turns water into wine

If there is one event in the Eastern Cape that has true “WOW!” appeal, it’s St Francis Bay’s unique two-day Wine on Water extravaganza. St Francis Bay is best described as a holiday village for the wealthy that lies at the mouth of the Kromme River and is about an hour’s drive from Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Perhaps its most prominent feature is a network of navigable canals upon which residents have built stunning waterfront homes… all with small boat and jetski moorings.

Last weekend, 21 homeowners on the canals opened their doors – to a limited extent, of course – to the public by hosting 40 top Western Cape wine estates for the sake of local community upliftment and development. So iconic has the event become that tickets are snapped up within an hour of going on sale. At first glance, attendance is quite pricey (R600 for Friday and R700 for Saturday) but the cost includes unlimited tastings and water taxi transport on a flotilla of 46 small boats and barges.

Participating wineries included Luddite, Peter Falcke, Durbanville Hills, Graham Beck, Ernie Els, Ken Forrester, Muratie, Kleine Zalze, Antonij Rupert, De Grendel, Mullineux, Raka, Boschendal, Delaire Graaff, Waterford, Lievland and Simonsig. Some of these estates prepare and serve snacks periodically throughout the two days but there are a number of participating restaurants as well as food trucks. The culinary highlight for Rose-Mariè (my partner) and I was a very reasonably priced and more-than-generous bowl of mussels in a delicious white wine, cream and garlic sauce.

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According to Rotary, “before Water on Wine (WOW), February and March were generally quiet in St Francis. Now, the village sees an influx of visitors, with businesses benefiting from the increased activity.

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