City Lodge Hotels is introducing its debut range of EASY house wines, produced in partnership with award-winning Diemersfontein Wine Estate and Thokozani Holdings. As the group’s food and beverage offering continues to grow and develop, adding a signature house wine was a natural next step.
The new and exceptional house wines, EASY Red and EASY White, reflect City Lodge Hotels’ commitment to providing quality and exceptional value to guests at a great price in all the restaurants and bars across the four brands of hotels.
EASY White is a 2024 Sauvignon Blanc, pale yellow in colour with a green tinge, and displays fresh acidity and ripe tropical fruits like pineapple and passion fruit, ending with a zingy lime and textured mouthfeel. It pairs well with the hotels’ fresh salads, fish and chicken dishes, light snacks, pizzas and sandwiches.
EASY Red is a 2022 Pinotage with rich, dark fruits like mulberry and blackberry on the nose, strawberry, cherry and plum on the palate, and a subtle hint of well-balanced oak. It pairs well with dishes like the hotels’ shisa nyama, chicken curry, hearty grills and more, and is a perfect partner for delectable chocolate mousse.
The EASY wines are available across all four hotel brands: Courtyard Hotel, City Lodge Hotel, Town Lodge and Road Lodge. EASY White sells for R45 per glass and R170 per bottle, and EASY Red for R50 per glass and R180 per bottle.
Diemersfontein has belonged to the Sonnenberg family for three generations, dating back to the early 1940s. Vineyard plantings include Shiraz, Pinotage, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chenin, Viognier and Mourvèdre. Diemersfontein’s maiden vintage in 2001 for a first wooded coffee chocolate Pinotage won the Paul Sauer Trophy at the SA Young Wine Show, the first of many accolades this estate and brand has achieved.
Diemersfontein Wines’ meaningful shareholder Thokozani Staff Holdings is a level 1 BBBEE majority female company and is an empowerment venture between Diemersfontein’s owners, David and Sue Sonnenberg, and the employees of the estate. Thokozani (meaning “let’s celebrate” in Zulu) wines are produced by employees of the estate, who enjoy ownership and a stake in the success of the brand.
Lindiwe Sangweni-Siddo, chief operating officer of City Lodge Hotels, says: “We are delighted to offer our guests our new house wines of distinction, EASY Red and EASY White. Not only can you check into EASY, you can now also sip EASY!”
