Le Vaillant Brandy Bingo: a game of skill and daring where losers drown their sorrows

Further research has confirmed that the fickle finger of fate sent François Le Vaillant to SA on the eve of the glorious French Revolution, for various reasons. To discover the Narina Trogon bird which he named after his Gonaqua girlfriend Narina; to document the Swellendam Bloubok before settlers shot it to extinction, to popularize baboons as travelling companions (he called his Klaas) as well as being an 18th century role model for boere rockster Valiant Swart. He was also the first brandy commentator, describing how the Dutch used it and tobacco “to bribe and deceive indigenous people.”

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From the map (above) Le Vaillant drew up for a sovereign shortly to lose his head on the guillotine, we can identify six regions in which SA brandies are distilled. Great for packaging purposes as six bottles make a showcase.

The most northerly terroir is the Petits Namaquois just south of la Riviere d’Orange. Funny thinking of Upington as the boere riviera – certainly a much better bet than the Vaal Dam.

Then there’s the Overberg where Oude Molen do the business. The Rockeveld, field of rocks around Rawsonville, stretching all the way to the Pays de Camdeboo, which sounds so much more marketable than the Karoo, don’t you think?

Then there’s the Hawaquas of Wellington and Paarl and the Drakenstein of Stellenbosch and Franschhoek which reinforces the French nature of SA brandy that many equate with luxury.

So while the French may have Bons Bois and Borderies, we have Namaquois, both petits and GRANDS and Cognac-like tipples aplenty from le Pays de Camdeboo. Marketing manna from hedonism’s heaven.

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