WHAT’S ON IN OCTOBER

Spring is in full swing and the garden is buzzing brightly. A highlight of our annual calendar, Garden Day returns on Sunday, 18 October, with the vegetable gardens taking centre stage.  

Edible Treasures 

We’re celebrating the bounty of the soil and the simple pleasure of growing good, clean food. At a time when something so fundamental can increasingly feel like a luxury, it’s worth remembering just how much a productive garden gives us – nourishment, knowledge and the pleasure of eating homegrown. 

Flower crowns are, as always, part of the fun, but we’re giving them an edible twist. Think berries on the branch, fragrant herbs, edible flowers, exotic vegetables and other treasures from the Kitchen Garden, woven among the blooms. 

Once crowned, wander through the garden to discover tastings and hands-on activities along the way – from Babylonstoren wines and olive oils to live music and wreath-weaving, with plenty of fun farm activities to keep little gardeners busy too. Then stop by the photo booth to capture your garden finery in full bloom. Come hungry, curious and ready to celebrate the green heart of the farm.  

Presenting Horrell & Horrell  

From Somerset to our spring table, we’re bringing the rustic charm and celebrated culinary finesse of Horrell & Horrell to Babylonstoren for Garden Day weekend. Farm-to-fork standard-bearers Jules and Steve Horrell, of Horrell & Horrell in Somerset, England, join forces with our executive chef Schalk Vlok for two special dining experiences rooted in what grows around us. With spring making an early, bold entrance, the garden is giving the chefs remarkable variety to bring to the plate. 

On Friday, 16 October, the Old Bakery hosts an off-the-cuff Fire Supper – a Vlok & Horrell feast cooked entirely over an open flame and in the wood-fired oven, putting the farm’s freshest produce to fire with little fuss and plenty of flavour. 

As Garden Day draws to a close on Sunday 18 October, Vlok & Horrell come together at a long table under the stars for a collaboration dinner shaped by the season. It’s a rare opportunity to taste the work of chefs who have built their careers around honouring homegrown produce. Visit our events page to book your seat at the table. 

Turn Garden Day into a delicious weekend escape with our Gourmand Garden Stay. Stay Friday and Saturday nights and enjoy one seat at Friday’s fire-forward Unplugged dinner on us. Or stay Saturday and Sunday nights and receive one seat at Sunday’s Vlok & Horrell Collaboration Dinner long-table celebration. 

Meet the water buffalo at Rietvlei 

You can now spend quality time with our gentle water buffalo herd. Hop on the shuttle to Rietvlei for a new hands-on farm tour that brings you into the daily rhythm of this exceptional dairy. Watch a milking demonstration, bottle-feed a calf and, when the mood allows, help with a little grooming. 

It’s a farm experience for all the senses, with plenty to learn along the way – from the classical music played for the herd to a tasting featuring mostly products made from water buffalo milk, plus a clay activity to get little hands busy and dirty. Book online and meet at the Babylonstoren ticket office from 13h20 for the short shuttle ride to Rietvlei. 

Ripe and readylicious 

Clivias are at their fiery peak, lighting up the Puff Adder walkway and the shaded path along the riverbank. In the Kitchen Garden, now’s the time to savour the last of the asparagus, while early peaches and plums are ripening in the orchards and mulberry trees hang heavy with fruit – a juicy reward to pluck as you wander. 

Our tunnels are brimming with green goodness, with marrow, pattypan squash and cucumber in abundance. Step inside the conservatory at the Greenhouse Restaurant to discover a collection of rare plants not seen elsewhere on the farm, then follow the buzz to the Byzantium, where bees dart between blossoms, returning to the hives laden with pollen. 

And don’t hurry past the Welwitschia Garden. Pause for a moment and you may catch an impromptu dance from our blue-headed Southern rock agamas – bloukopkoggelmanders – bopping in the sunshine. 

School’s out at Soetmelksvlei 

Once you’ve travelled back in time to 1897, take a tour of the farmyard at an appropriate pace. Climb aboard the ox wagon, drawn by our giant Chianina oxen, Ilios and Astro, or take the mule-drawn cart for a friskier trot around the farm.  

There’s a generous farm spread waiting at the Old Stables Restaurant, but save a little room for roosterkoek. Bake your own over the coals beside the Farmhouse, then eat it warm with farm-made butter dripping down your wrist. Afterwards, try your hand at separating cream the old-fashioned way – one of the many small, hands-on glimpses into how food made its way from farm to table in 1897. 

Think pink. Think big. 

What to take to a special occasion? Our flower child, the Mourvèdre Rosé, makes a wonderful plus-one. To make a grand gesture, our limited-release six-litre bottles are just the thing. Exclusively available in our Tasting Room while stocks last. 

Fun fact: a six-litre bottle of Rhône-style wine is called a Methuselah. Not a magnum, nor even a double magnum – that’s a mere three litres. Named after the biblical figure famed for his exceptionally long life, the Methuselah traditionally hints at longevity and the ageing potential of the wine within. Given our flower child’s extreme drinkability, however, ageing is the least of her concerns. 

For the month of October, buy three bottles of our Mourvèdre Rosé from our online shop and get one on us. Plus, you’re automatically entered into a draw to win a two-night stay for two at Babylonstoren Farm Hotel, including a wonderful farm breakfast at Babel Restaurant. 

Black gold 

Once a year, eight fortunate vinegar aficionados join cellar master Klaas Stoffberg for our annual balsamic vinegar workshop. It begins with a tour of the cellar and ends in our maturation space, where patience is very much part of the process. 

Our balsamic vinegar begins with imported must from lambrusco and trebbiano grapes and is aged in a traditional battery of Italian barrels. Year on year, the vinegar passes into progressively smaller barrels, slowly concentrating in flavour and complexity until, at last, it reaches the smallest barrel in the battery. 

This is where the black gold lies. Only a handful of 100 ml bottles are drawn from the smallest barrel each year – a rare bottling made to be opened, shared and savoured. The workshop ends, fittingly, with a taste of this precious final pour. 

Festive farm shopping in Joburg 

Christmas comes early to Johannesburg when Babylonstoren opens its Festive Pop-Up at Mall of Africa from 23 October to 24 December. For two months, we’re bringing a generous selection from our Farm Shop north – with plenty to dress the home, deck the tree and set a memorable festive table. 

Discover handcrafted festive decorations, candles, beautiful linen, tableware and pieces for the home, along with gifts for cooks and lovers of good design. There’ll be pantry favourites to sample and tuck into hampers too, plus plenty of inspiration for stockings and gifts beneath the tree. Come browse, taste and take a little Babylonstoren home for Christmas. 

From farm to sea 

Our seaside sister estate, BLOU in Keurbooms, offers a change of horizon after time on the farm. Bury your feet in the sand, watch dolphins leap from the waves and surrender to the restorative pull of the ocean. Exclusively available to guests who have previously stayed at Babylonstoren or The Newt, BLOU in Keurbooms makes a natural second chapter to a Cape escape – swap vineyard rows and garden paths for sand between your toes and the many shades of blue between sky and sea. 

WORKSHOPS IN OCTOBER 

Hungry minds and eager hands have plenty to choose from in October. Learn from the growers, bakers and makers on the farm by practising their craft alongside them.  

 BABYLONSTOREN 

1 October – Veg on fire! Get grilling with Babel’s head chef 
6 October – The secrets of traditional Italian balsamic vinegar 
13 October – Garden Day: create your own flower crown 
14 October – The colourful world of clivias and other indigenous bulbs 
15 October – Garden Day: create your own flower crown 
20 October – Craft your own homemade soaps 
21 October – Create a natural freshwater pond 
27 October – The beautiful world of fynbos 
28 October – Pasta from scratch 

 SOETMELKSVLEI 

1 October – Cape cookery: traditional melktert, melkkos & koesisters 
2 October – Bake your own pies: four ways with traditional butter pastry 
3 October – Blacksmithing: forge a pigtail braai fork 
8 October – Farm brew: bean-to-cup coffee experience 
8 October – Everything’s better with butter: make butter & bake buttermilk rusks 
9 October – Pickle and preserve the season’s abundance 
10 October – Make a 3-legged milking stool 
15 October – Magic with milk: make butter, soft cheese & yoghurt 
16 October – Chocolate and cake celebration: bake your own treats 
17 October – Craft a wooden spoon and an iron ladle 
22 October – Master meat: make boerewors & droëwors 
23 October – Bake with mulberries 
24 October – Leathercraft: dog collar & leash 
29 October – Bloomin’ beautiful: the art of flower pressing 
30 October – Cape food: traditional bobotie with seasonal chutney 
31 October – The art of bookbinding 
31 October – Craft a traditional riempie camping chair