IT'S NOT the first year that picnics have been offered alongside the Maanschijn winery at the Stonefields farm on Route 43 between Stanford and Hermanus, but they're getting a reputation as an artisanal experience worth checking out. Best to book at least a day in advance of when you'd like to sit at the benches or take a blanket to spread out on the grass, next to the trees or under one of the umbrellas in their Wine Garden, where cellarmasters Paul Hoogwerf and Douglas Mylrea offer a tray of interesting nibbles paired with one or more of the whites and reds in their Brunch Club (under crown caps) and Herbarium ranges. Food wise, think cheeses, biltong, olives, bread and confectionery at R500 for a group of three or four. Wine wise, think red and white blends, a rosé and a Méthode Ancestrale bubbly at R220 to R275pb.
Maanschijn is a Dutch word that can be translated as ‘moonlight', or ‘moonshine', which seems more appropriate given what they're fermenting at one of South Africa's heritage buildings that was once a stable, located at the foot of a mountain called Maanschynkop.
