What’s on in September?
August 26th, 2025
Sweet Signs of Spring
What a joy to experience our garden covered in fragrant blossoms – cherry, nectarine apricot, pear, apple and more – delicate buds piercing the still chilly air with promises of sun-ripened sweetness to come. The days may be getting longer and more colourful, but in the beautiful Boland it’s still very much red wine weather.
Shiraz Stars
We’re thrilled that our Shiraz – a wine we’ve always been incredibly proud of – received top honours at the recent Shiraz SA Awards held in Paarl this August. Babylonstoren Shiraz 2022 was named among the Top 12, while Babel 2023 ranked in the Top 5 shiraz blends. Cheers to our stellar cellar and vineyard teams!
Exceptional Tastemakers
On the produce side, our gardeners, farmers and artisan food makers have once again done us proud at the Aurora International Taste Challenge – the Olympics of the food industry – garnering a whopping 13 awards. The winners read like a shopping list for a delicious spring picnic, charcuterie platter or braai.
- Babylonstoren Honey & Fig Leaf Gelato – double gold
- Babylonstoren Spiced Rooibos Gelato – double gold
- Babylonstoren Roasted & Salted Almonds – double gold
- Babylonstoren Kalamata & Anchovy Tapenade – double gold
- Babylonstoren Kalamata & Herb Tapenade – double gold
- Babylonstoren Boerewors – gold
- Babylonstoren Coppa – gold
- Babylonstoren Lochess Salami – gold
- Babylonstoren Honeybush – gold
- Babylonstoren Roasted & Salted Macadamias – gold
- Babylonstoren Roasted Macadamia Nut Butter – gold
- Babylonstoren Sundried Tomato Pesto – gold
- Babylonstoren Nocellara Olive Hummus – gold
Heritage Flavours
If you’re planning a braai for Heritage Day, stock up on our award-winning boerewors and the thickest, most fragrant lamb chops south of the Namib, available from the farm shop or online. For Heritage Day, Soetmelksvlei’s Old Stables Restaurant will be serving traditional favourites like bobotie, with skaapstertjies on the braai and sweet classics like sago and souskluitjies for dessert – the perfect place to celebrate our shared love of hearty home cooking. Bonus: driving through a sea of pink almond blossoms on the way over.
Markers of change
Soon strollers along the footpath beneath the wild olive trees will be rewarded with the first sightings of our beloved boslelies. Clivia expert Brent Reid prefers not to put an exact number to our growing collection but it’s safe to say they number in the thousands. Expect to see these beauties bursting open from mid-September onwards. In honour of these robust blooms, the Puff Adder walkway will also exhibit our exquisite potted clivia collection.
Shoots, spears and (more) citrus
We’ve loved sharing in the abundance of this year’s blood orange harvest, but we’re not done with citrus yet! Our Tango naartjies are providing a last, sweet kick of vitamin C. And while we’re picking the last of the waterblommetjies from our ponds, the gardens will soon be pushing up tender asparagus and majestic artichokes. All you need is a knob of sizzling farm butter and a squeeze of lemon to taste the pure goodness of spring.
The little berries on our mulberry trees are soaking up the sunshine, soon to burst onto the tongue. If you love the sweet tang of a loquat straight from the tree, this is the month to visit. In the Greenhouse, our strawberries take root in September to spread joy throughout the warmer months. We’re also picking gorgeous aromatics like fresh lime, curry leaves and lemongrass to punch up the flavour of broths and curries.
Working knowledge
It’s pruning season on the farm – trees, vines, hedges – and our creative garden decor team are wasting no time in weaving the cuttings into beautiful functional and decorative items for the garden and home. Join a workshop and learn to create baskets, garden partitions and decorative objects from plant materials. If you’re looking to broaden your braai repertoire beyond the traditional meat and braaibroodjies, the workshop on grilling veg presented by executive chef Schalk Vlok is just what you need. Over at Soetmelkslvei, workshops focusing on traditional crafts and cooking will have you stitching and kneading at a leisurely pace. It also serves as a wonderful introduction to this 19th century working farm, if you haven’t yet visited.
Workshops on the farm
Babylonstoren
02 Sept – Grow your own spring vegetables
03 Sept – Spring decor from the garden
10 Sept – Encounter the beautiful world of fynbos
17 Sept – Craft your own homemade soaps
18 Sept – Taste of spring: asparagus & artichokes
23 Sept – Discover the secret life of insects
30 Sept – Broaden your gardening horizons with indigenous trees
Soetmelksvlei
04 Sept – Traditional handcrafts: colour crocheting
05 Sept – Bake your own: make butter & buttermilk scones
12 Sept – Bake your own pies: four ways with traditional butter pastry
13 Sept – Make a wooden milk stool
19 Sept – Berry feast: bake your own frangipane tart
20 Sept – Learn the art of bookbinding
25 Sept – Veg on fire! Get grilling with our Babel head chef
26 Sept – Master meat: make your own salami
