*** STOP PRESS 31/10/13 ***

The outstanding bill has been paid and Gugs is back on track.  In fact the infrastructure organizers who originally sought liquidation have “come to the party” and will pay the legal bills of Mzoli Mgcawuzele, owner of Gugs.  Which shows that even in wine, common sense can sometimes prevail.  So the party is on for next year.  See you there!

The original story ran by City Press the day before RMB WineX opened in Sandton,reported the liquidation of the Gugulethu Wine Festival.  Seems that the organizers neglected to pay an infrastructure organizer R94K for “eight chandeliers, a 20 metre-long red carpet, and 23 no-smoking signs.”  Which confirms just how important clean air has become in former townships.

Brand owner Distell will not be happy to have JC Le Roux singled out for their “glamorous JC Le Roux Lounge.” Most of the progressive wine brands were there and JC is a top seller in Gugs so of course they’d front up.  Adding to the glamour aplenty as my paps above and below, confirm. Way more than at WineX, I’ll wager.  Can Wade Bales, proprietor of WadeZ and King of Cape Town Shows, step in to save the brave festival? For if wine shows become “whites only” what future is there for wine in the Rainbow Nation?

A rare sighting of the ‘warpainted wine lizard‘ (Gonatodes timidus)