THE 2026 La Motte Harvest Experience shares the blessing of the harvest with an invitation into the vineyards and cellar and with a seat at the table.
One of the estate’s enthusiastic and knowledgeable wine tasting ambassadors will guide you on this celebration of unique harvest traditions:
In the vineyard – enjoy an introduction to the different varieties, harvest processes and the estate’s biologic farming practices. Spot the differences between the various varieties and taste the sweetness of the ripe berries.
In the cellar – experience the hand-sorting of grapes, crush, pump-overs and other cellar activities, concluded with a tasting of grape must (fermenting grape juice) from a fermentation tank. (Cellar activity will depend on the specific day’s harvest action.)
In the tasting room – enjoy a tasting of La Motte’s award-winning wines, four from the La Motte Reserve Collections. You can also enjoy the famous La Motte mosbolletjie as part of the tasting.
At the table – relax on the tasting room veranda with a view of the estate gardens and enjoy a beautiful harvest-inspired small plate, with a glass of wine of course. The harvest plate is available during the morning sessions and is an optional and additional part of the offering at R70. The inspiration of chef Stephan Moolman from L’Ami Family Brasserie, the plate consists of fire-roasted grapes, Parma ham and hangop kaas (similar to labneh), served with pickled red onions, fynbos vinegar and charred vine leaves. If you are in the mood for breakfast, join the harvest breakfast at the Bakery. The popular French toast is made with egg-dipped mosbolletjies, sweet ricotta, fresh fruit, berries and honey.
The Franschhoek Valley was recently ablaze with devastating veld fires; La Motte thanks everyone for their concern and all the messages received.
Although there were some fires high in the Wemmershoek mountain on the estate, the fire was predominantly in the bigger La Motte area and not on the estate. La Motte is therefore very grateful to say that it is open for business as usual. “Thoughts go out to our neighbours who suffered extensive damage. We were there to help and we hope to continue our support where we can,” said a sp0kesperson.
“We are fortunate to be part of a caring community and grateful for everyone who contributed resources, refreshments and assistance to help the brave firefighting teams.”
Vineyards are susceptible to outside flavours – and sometimes that is a good thing. Vegetation such as fynbos and eucalyptus trees have an effect on what we taste, and so do soil types. Who can resist the minerality and flinty notes in Chablis, derived from Burgundy’s limestone soils or the volcanic soil smokiness that we can often pick up in Sicilian wines? Does this mean the smoke that engulfed the valley for weeks will have an influence on the vineyards and the eventual profile of the 2026 vintage?
Much research has been done on the subject of smoke taint, especially in Australia where summer fires often cause havoc in the winelands. Smoke taint happens when smoke-derived volatile phenols in the air attach themselves to the leaves and berries and eventually react with the grape sugars. They are released again during fermentation and in this way affect the flavour of the wine.
According to wine.wsu.edu; “Smoke residue contains high concentrations of volatile phenols, such as guaiacol and eugenol. Smoke taint has been found in juice and wine made from grapes, as the glycosylated forms of these phenols tend to accumulate in the skin and mesocarp (pulp) of the berry. These compounds are released during alcoholic and malolactic fermentation, causing the wine to become unpleasantly ‘pharmaceutical’, ‘dirty’, ‘ash tray’, ‘medicinal’, ‘camp fire’, or ‘burnt’, and reduces the perception of varietal fruit aroma.”
The good news is that a significant concentration of smoke is required for it to really affect the wine and La Motte’s hope is that most of its 2026 wines will be relatively unaffected by the smoke. Read more here.
The Harvest Experience (R300 per person) includes the vineyard and cellar tour as well as wine tasting. (harvest plate is optional and additional at R70). The experience takes about 90 minutes and is available from Mondays to Saturdays at 10am and 3pm until the end of harvest, expected to be mid-March.
Reservations are required and can be made online. Click here.
