Bubbles are having their moment: From Nirox picnics to boules in Waterfall City

Bubbles used to wait for a reason: a wedding, a promotion, midnight on 31 December. This season, the cork seems to be coming out for no reason at all. And in the places where South African tastemakers actually spend their weekends, too.

Visit salonsustainability.club for more information.

The Citizen attended three very different events that made the same argument: bubbles are no longer saved for special occasions. They are becoming the default way to spend a long, sunny afternoon. So, that makes them the drink to beat this summer for those who partake.

Bubbles go outdoors

Veuve Clicquot hosted the launch of Le Picnic at the Nirox Sculpture Park. Picture: Kaunda Selisho

The clearest case came from Veuve Clicquot, which hosted the launch of Le Picnic at the Nirox Sculpture Park. A public, ticketed edition of the experience is set for early April. The launch gave guests a preview of how the House wants South Africans to drink its champagne: outside, unhurried and in good company.

Le Picnic is a global luxury outdoor dining and lifestyle activation, inspired by the House’s solaire art de vivre. Everywhere it lands, it favours scenic settings, from rooftop terraces and coastal islands to historic estates and sculpture parks. Nirox, with its art and open lawns, is a natural fit for the South African chapter. Guests dine on menus created by local and international chefs, built around fresh seafood, local artisan delicacies and speciality dishes. The pours are chilled Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label and Brut Rosé, served by on-site sommeliers.

The styling is as deliberate as the menu. Bespoke Provençal-inspired textiles, branded accessories and designer picnic baskets, created with local partners such as Mos Crib, turn the lawn into a set.

Boules, baskets and a very civilised Sunday

While Veuve Clicquot took the bubble to the sculpture park, Le Parc Polofields brought it to the garden.

The Parisian-inspired food emporium from Tashas Group partnered with Moët & Chandon on a boules and picnic experience at its Waterfall City location. It is available from 8 November, with bookings through Dineplan.

A select guest list of South African media recently experienced the pétanque with the pressure removed, seated beside a Moët & Chandon-branded boules court. The court can be found at the restaurant’s picturesque outdoor garden.

Le Parc Polofields. Picture: Supplied

Natasha Sideris, founder and CEO of Tashas Group, said the court “brings another wonderful element” to the Le Parc experience. “It’s playful, it’s social and it encourages people to slow down and enjoy themselves,” she said.

The practicalities

A booking gives a group of up to eight players 60 minutes on the court, with equipment included. Guests are advised to arrive 15 minutes early. Extensions are possible when the court is free. Children aged 13 and older may play with adult supervision, though champagne is strictly for those over 18.

We recommend comfortable shoes because, as we found, the sand is unkind to heels.

And for anyone who would rather spectate, Le Parc suggests that a picnic basket and a glass of bubbles are “a perfectly respectable alternative”.

Champagne & Boules brings a touch of art de vivre to the gardens of Le Parc Polofields. Picture: Supplied

The baskets are where the bubbles come in. Each serves two and comes in three versions, each built around a freshly baked baguette, cheeses, marinated olives, fig and truffle confit, fresh grapes and berries, Torres crisps and six macarons.

Le Classique is the meat-free option, Le Chique adds salmon and salmon mousse, and Le Grand Luxe brings charcuterie and a rosemary and onion confit. Each can be paired with two 200ml bottles of Moët & Chandon Brut Impérial, from R1 300 to R1 600 depending on the basket, or with a one-litre lemonade from R750 to R990.

Cap classique has its own story to tell

Champagne may own the French chapter of this story, but the local one belongs to cap classique. The variant got its due at A Toast to Tradition. This was an intimate evening celebrating the legacy of Jacques Bruwer and the Jacques Bruère range from Bon Courage Estate.

The menu, curated by the kitchen at the Fairlwans Boutique Hotel was a masterclass in how far bubbles can travel across a table.

The welcome pour, the Chardonnay Prestige Cuvée 2025 was enjoyed with springbok carpaccio and a truffle mushroom vol-au-vent. The Vintage Blanc de Blancs 2015 followed with a dreamy truffle mushroom risotto. And, the Vintage Brut Reserve 2018 met poached linefish with potato and leek foam and black garlic salsa.

The Vintage Cuvée Rosé 2018 took on slow-braised pork belly with parsnip purée and apple mousse. While a Noble Late Harvest closed the evening alongside a blueberry macaroon with lime filling.

Jacques Bruwer. Picture: Supplied

Bruwer, who spoke on the night, described the ambition behind it all plainly. “We wanted to bring something new to the farm,” he said, explaining that cap classique gets its bubbles from a second fermentation in the bottle, “but for people to enjoy”. It is a method that rewards patience and a style that, as he put it, “goes with all the nice things in life, all the happy things in life”.

Organic growth

His account of how the range grew was just as disarming. Research steered him towards a blanc de blancs, and a rosé followed to sit alongside it. When a new winemaker arrived in 2018, he took the rosé in a different direction, making it entirely from Pinot Noir. Bruwer said the result is a wine with “a lot of mousse” and notes of strawberries and fruit.

Having rich, food-driven courses matched to cap classique from start to finish was, he admitted, something new even for a man who has spent a long time in the business. “Rich meals, rich wine,” he warmly concluded as he shared a milestone in the family business – passing the baton to his daughter, winemaker Inge Bruwer-Malan.

“It is an honour to be entrusted with such a prestigious brand. My father taught me patience and precision, which matter most in cap classique, where one mistake can cost more than seven years of work on a vintage. I hope to bring my own touch while carrying the legacy forward, with consistency and quality always our goals,” said Inge.

Winemaker Inge Bruwer-Malan. Picture: Supplied

The calendar is filling up

If you find yourself in the mood for more bubbles, the social calendar obliges. The 24th Absa Champagne in Africa Festival takes place this Friday, 13 November. It starts at 6pm, ends at 10pm and will be at Summer Place in Hyde Park, Johannesburg.

Billed as Africa’s premier champagne showcase, it brings together tastings from 35 established and independent French champagne houses under the theme “When French Luxury Meets Pan-African Chic”.

The programme leans into that fusion with gourmet pairings, including sushi, a live pasta station and braai specialties, alongside a fashion installation by David Tlale and luxury car displays. The dress code, fittingly, is French chic meets African luxury. Tickets are R2 950 per person via Quicket, which puts it firmly in the occasion-dressing bracket, but its place on the calendar says as much as its price. A festival with a two-decade-plus track record would not keep growing if the appetite for bubbles were fading.

Read full story at source