Lifestyle: Out of the Blue - Helena Barry Photography: Henrique Wilding


rom fresh herbs to wine, picnics to weddings, Allée Bleue is evolving into one of the wineland’s most exciting lifestyle estates. Helena Barry spoke to the estate’s hands-on general manager Wolfgang Leyrer (pictured right) about what it takes to stay on top in challenging times.


F


Most people who have heard of Allée Bleue associate it with glamorous weddings. With its photo-opportunity gardens – masses of iceberg roses, lavender fields and old oaks fringed with lush lawns – and choice of reception venues, it offers the ultimate romantic backdrop to a couple’s big day. In between the weddings – more than 50


weddings have been held so far on the estate this summer – it is repeat bookings from corporate clients that keep the banqueting staff on their toes throughout the year.


Within striking distance of Paarl Franschhoek, and Stellenbosch, Allée Bleue is literally in the heart of the winelands, a region known to be at the cutting edge of South Africa’s growing gourmet culture. It makes sense then that Leyrer used to be a chef. When the owners, Elke and Friedrich- Wilhelm Dauphin, acquired the property in 1999, naming it after the avenue of majestic blue gums that line the entrance, they began investing substantially in both its infrastructure


Allée Bleue Manor


100 Management Today | January 2012


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114