Paarl winery Nederburg has been chosen as the setting for the upcoming M-Net series, MasterChef SA. The kitchen for the show will be housed inside Nederburg’s Johann Graue Auction Hall, the venue where the Nederburg Auction is usually held. The 1000 m2 venue has been revamped to accommodate 20 cooking stations for the 18 week show.

Anne Davis, M-Net’s senior commissioning editor, said, “We wanted to shoot in the Winelands because Cape vineyards are immediately recognisable to local and international viewers as distinctly South African.” Nederburg’s location is also convenient for any off-site challenges in and around the country’s gourmet capital.

Set in 49 hectares of the Paarl valley and boasting original Cape Dutch architecture, Nederburg will certainly make a picturesque setting for the series.

The winery will also provide a customised sommelier course, one-on-one master classes in wine presented by Nederburg’s internationally acclaimed cellar master Razvan Macici, and a year’s supply of Nederburg Winemaster’s Reserve Wines as prizes.

MasterChef South Africa premieres on Tuesday 20 March 2012 at 7.30pm on M-Net. For more information on the series and its judges, click here.