Everything’s coming up rosé at the UK Chelsea Flower Show

London’s Chelsea Flower Show is the world’s favourite floral spectacle. It takes place annually over five days at the end of May. But what has the Chelsea flower show got to do with SA?

For many decades our botanical displays were the crowning glory of the show, winning many a trophy and putting the country’s botanical treasures on show for the world  — even receiving, it is said, a nod from Queen Elizabeth. That was until a few years ago when Covid-19 and budget constraints prevented SA’s participation.

Though the country has no botanical display this year, the good news is that SA is represented through a different kind of botanical — a wine that has been named as the official rosé of the flower show.

Babylonstoren Mourvèdre Rosé is made from the grapes grown on Babylonstoren, the famous organic working farm situated just outside Franschhoek and owned by billionaire businessman Koos Bekker and his wife Karen Roos.

It’s a glorious looking wine. The orangey-pink hues could almost be the same as the queen's ensemble she wore to the opening of the show this year, and appropriate for the occasion a toast to the arrival of spring in the UK.  

You may not be able to get to the Chelsea Flower show but you can order the wine through the farm’s website Babylonstoren.com. The Mourvedre Rose 2021 costs R130 a bottle.

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