Barrels and Beards have become as synonymous with the Bot River wine region as fine wine, cool terroir and colourful winemakers. Thanks to the latter element, the region’s recent annual Barrels and Beards showcase was another huge success leading to a combination of pulsating entertainment, decadent showmanship, great wine and a party that saw the sun rise over nearby Walker Bay.

“In short, not an event I will be missing ever again,” says Joaquim Sá, MD of Amorim Cork SA whose enthusiasm for this occasion saw Amorim come on board as an official Barrels and Beards sponsor in 2014.

The seventh running of this event was held at Barton Vineyards, culminating in the crowning of the local winemaker who had shown the most success in cultivating an aesthetically pleasing spread of facial hair which he had to present to the audience with a spot of self-improvisation. Amorim Cork was there – not with a beard, but as a sponsor of cash prizes for the top three bearded oenologists, with Joaquim roped in as one of the judges.