HISTORIC Allée Bleue wine estate near Franschhoek offers an all-season picnic with style, aptly named the Chicnic.
The Allée Bleue Chicnic menu is a mélange of Cape flavours sourcing fresh produce from the farm and its surrounds. A basket for two, served at a garden table under an ancient oak tree or under a cosy blanket in the courtyard on rainy days, is the setting for a sublime lazy day in the Cape winelands. Expect luncheon goodies including the signature Allée Bleue herb salad with a Cabernet Merlot wine reduction complete with pecorino cheese shavings; and a ploughman’s platter of delicious cold meats and local cheeses, out-of-the-oven baked bread accompanied by smoked olive tapenade and aniseed onion marmalade. Rounding off the country feast is a traditional warm malva pudding served with crème anglaise.
A holistic family experience is the hallmark of the Allée Bleue picnic offering with Allée Bleue’s youngest guests having a menu crafted especially for them. The healthy and delicious children’s picnic features homemade pizza, fresh sweet potato chips, carrot sticks and a selection of cheeses, nuts and cold meats. The fiesta ends with a gourmet KitKat hot milk served with mini marshmallows.
Before heading for home, visitors should stop by the tasting centre and marché set in one of the estate’s historic buildings for wines to take home as well as farm produce.
Be sure to book your Chicnic basket ahead of your day out. Menus including a vegetarian option are R390 for two people sharing, while the children’s picnic costs R95 per child. To book and for more information, call 021 874 1021. Open daily from 11am till 4pm.
Allée Bleue Wine Estate is at the intersection of the R45 and R310. More information about this picturesque working farm is available at www.alleebleue.com or follow on Twitter and Instagram: @AlleeBleue
