New slot for Plett Wine & Bubbly Fest

PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - In a move to boost the impact of the annual Plett Wine & Bubbly Festival, the event has been moved to next year.

The fifth Plett Wine & Bubbly Festival – which is set to showcase not only the town’s growing wine industry but also its locally sourced and prepared food as well as local talent – was scheduled to take place on 29 and 30 September this year.

Plett Tourism, however, announced this week that, after consultation with the Plett wine industry, a decision had been made to move the date to the Easter holidays.

Plett Tourism spokesperson Patty Butterworth said the decision was part of the organisation’s strategy to increase awareness of Plettenberg Bay out of season. “It is also to increase exposure to an international audience. This is a time of year traditionally recognised as ‘swallows’ season – our regular mature visitors with a higher LSM,” she said.

Complementing outdoor events
Butterworth added that the decision was also made to complement an existing outdoor and sporting events platform with a leisure festival, and to complement the wine industry and the harvest season.

Although the festival has grown exponentially since it was first held in 2014, it had had a bumpy ride over the past year. Last year its main sponsor withdrew its sponsorship, and Bitou Municipality came to the rescue to ensure that the festival did not lose the momentum it had built up over the past four years.

The festival has grown massively over the past four years and last year attracted about 2 000 visitors, an improvement from the previous year’s 1 600 guests.

The festival has grown massively over the past four years and last year attracted about 2 000 visitors.

When the festival was first introduced in 2014 it attracted about 500 visitors, a year later the figure more than doubled. The event also created massive media coverage with editorial value of R1.9-million during the first year, R2.2-million in 2015 and more than R3.5-million last year.

More than 30 local wines
Butterworth said that although the dates of the next festival are yet to be established, festivalgoers would be able to enjoy more than 30 different wines from local producers.

Back on the menu will be Taste of Plett, allowing local iconic restaurants to pair locally sourced and produced food with the local wines. This will include artisan cheeses, charcuterie and breads as well as sushi, other savouries and cultivated oysters.

Another firm favourite is the Plett Wine Theatre. This will end the festival off with a wine guest of honour sharing some knowledge with aficionados. Previously these guests included the likes of Pieter Ferreira – or Mr Bubbles as he is known – from Graham Beck Wines and wine columnist and enthusiast Peter Bishop.

Butterworth said that although the dates of the next festival are yet to be established, festivalgoers would be able to enjoy more than 30 different wines from local producers.