Today is emancipation day and its pretty shocking that there are no parties to celebrate the contribution slaves made to establishing the vineyards of the Cape. The closest we came was the travesty of a Great Wine Capitals Global Network bunfest at Waterford on Friday starring WOSA heavyweight Andre Morgenthal, a hearty fellow who has made a career out of lunch. He could be a role model for David Bullard, although not as witty.
The pompously named Great Wine Capitals Global Network seems to be the ultimate quango for bureaucrats who fly around the world on producers’ dimes, big noting themselves and piling on the calories. Of far more use is Johan Wegner’s GetWine Somerbosch Sale this coming weekend. Following hot on the heels of a wildly successful Black Friday Sale at D’Aria in Durbanville, where the arias in question were played by the cash machines and tills, this one brings the joy to Stellenbosch between 14:00 and 18:00 on Friday and 08:30 and 1300 on Saturday with the usual unbeatable deals we’ve all come to expect from GetWine.
GetWine should re-brand as Global GetWine Capital Network and compete with WOSA for the R35 million of industry money that WOSA dine away each year. For GetWine certainly do far more for SA wine than WOSA and charity begins at home. Or at their Salt River HQ, at the very least.
Oh how salty were the tears of slaves and there is a rather beautiful and unexpected memorial to the slaves of the Cape, recognized by the surname “van de Kaap” or “van de Caab”, in the all singing, all dancing winery at Babylonstoren in Paarl. I wonder whether SA’s most rewarded wine brand, the Mentors range from KWV, is named after Mentor van de Kaap rather than a Michael Fridjhon brokered deal involving Australian winemakers and green peppers – or capsicums as the whistle blower refers to them these days – in KWV award winning Sauvignons Blanc. I do hope so!
And by the way, where is Mandy Wiener’s expose of SAWIT, the SA Wine Industries Trust, that should make Killing Kebble read like a fairy tale? Perhaps Koos Bekker will publish it.
Meanwhile Koos’s Babylonstoren also make good use of old farm implements in the winery and have constructed a sculptural feature in the garden with pieces of broken Dutch crockery. Hopefully not dropped by Mentor and his mates.
