Summer Sunset Sessions on the Deck at La Vierge
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A Family Day at La Vierge Farm on the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge
High on the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, La Vierge Farm offers families a day outdoors on a working wine farm, with open-air picnics, guided vineyard tours and tastings, and a space to slow the pace.
The best family wine farm days are the ones where no one feels rushed or left out, and there’s something for everyone to enjoy. At La Vierge Farm on the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge just over 13.5km from Hermanus, children have space to play, families picnic on the lawns or beneath old oak trees, and the day is spent outdoors with good wine, wholesome food, fresh air, and wide views across a working landscape.
This is a new chapter. Opening to the public for the first time, La Vierge Farm sits high on the ridge within a natural amphitheatre draped in vines, fynbos, and natural flowers. Guinea fowl wander around, tractors hum in the background, and our farm team goes about its daily work while our guests spread out across lawns and picnic spots.
Family-friendly farm
Kids are welcome at La Vierge. With a watchful eye, they can roam and explore the sights, sounds, smells, and textures of the ridge.
There’s also a secure area tended by a childminder, with a trampoline, jungle gym, mini boules court, and playthings for children to enjoy while parents relax nearby.
Oak Cottage: Your Starting Point on the Ridge
Oak Cottage is the oldest building in this part of the Hemel-en-Aarde, and is the strating point for our farm experiences, with shaped glens and picnic areas. You can also enjoy tastings, pairings and platters here.
If you haven’t pre-ordered a picnic basket, the deli makes it easy to fill one from a seasonal offering of crafted sandwiches and wraps, vibrant salads, savoury pâtés, delicate mousses, small-batch jams and preserves, raw honey, refined sweet bakes, and a handpicked selection of artisanal treats and gifts. Tastings and pairings are also available.
Oak Cottage gives families a simple base from which the day can stretch out naturally.
Picnics at Oak Cottage
Vineyard Tours and Tastings
For guests who want to learn more about our work on the farm, our guided tour offers a gentle introduction. It’s a 45-minute guided walk with five stops, and a Story Teller wine to taste at each stop.
The walk is relaxed and interactive. Guests can learn about our vines and wines and ask questions along the way. Children are part of it too, with a trail bingo card that encourages them to tick off the animals, nature, and farm details they spot on the route. An exciting experience for little ones!
The cost is R350 per person and bookings are essential.
Picnics are the main event on La Vierge Farm. Pre-ordered picnic baskets are packed with a selection of freshly made foods and wines, and each one includes a picnic blanket. You can choose your own spot to stretch out and enjoy delicious wine and food.
For families planning things to do in Hermanus, a picnic on the farm offers an easy, unhurried way to spend a few hours soaking up the natural beauty of the region. We recommend pre-ordering to ensure your basket is ready and waiting for you.
Picnic timeslots run from 11:00 to 15:00.
Our Wines
La Vierge Farm is on the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, just 8km up the road from our Restaurant and Tasting Room in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley. Here, open skies, fynbos edges, and sloping vineyards form a natural amphitheatre, exposing the vines to shifting weather systems and creating the conditions that shape our La Vierge Estate wines and our Story Teller Collection wines.
Our vineyards are dryland farmed, relying on natural rainfall and careful site selection rather than irrigation. Combined with the ridge’s slopes and exposure, this plays an important role in a region best known for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. This approach to farming and site expression has earned La Vierge international recognition, including being named among the IWSC Top 50 Wine Producers Worldwide, as well as a 2025 IWSC Gold Medal and 95-point rating for our La Vierge Estate Chardonnay.
Pairing the Ridge with the Valley
Because the farm is a short distance from our Restaurant and Tasting Room in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, it’s easy to plan a full day across both locations. Some guests start in the Valley and head up to the ridge for a picnic and a walk. Others do it in reverse, beginning on the ridge and ending with a meal or tasting in the Valley.
If you’re visiting the Hermanus wine region for a day out, this gives you two distinct experiences in one route, with the ridge offering space, movement, and the working farm setting.
