Wineblog

by Edo Heyns

Fire fighters and desperate vinegrowers had their hands full this weekend as dry conditions and strong winds made combatting a raging fire in the Slanghoek Valley an almost impossible task. At least 12 hectares of vineyards, consisting of Cinsault, Pinotage, Shiraz, Chenin Blanc and Red Hanepoot, were severely damaged. The fire is now under control in that valley, but it raged on in the Bainskloof area, towards Wellington.

Red Hanepoot

Vast stretches of alien vegetation, as well as fynbos was also destroyed.

Many of the grapes were almost ready to be harvested

The fire damaged vines, trellising material and irrigation equipment

deur Elona Nel

Dit is maak of breek tyd – die afgelope seisoen se harde werk en bloed-sweet in die wingerde hang in die weegskaal. Die reuk van ryp druiwe vul die lug en wynmakers is tot verdere kennisgewing basies onbereikbaar.

Dave Hughes saam met Mandy Henry en Pierre Meintjies, bewaarders van die Quaich.

Soos die gebruik reeds vir eeue heen regoor die wêreld is, is dit toepaslik om die komende pars te seën. Wynlegende Dave Hughes is reeds vir talle jare betrokke by die jaarlikse wynmaker- en distilleerder-seëning van die pars, wat verlede week vir die 18de keer plaasgevind het by die Saint Nicholas Katolieke Kerk in Stellenbosch.

ʼn Byeenkoms wat bekend staan as die Feast of St Vincent of Saragossa, the Patron Saint of Wine Growers – en jaarliks regoor Europa gevier word – word hierdie heilige beskermheer op eie bodem geprys en geëer. Wynmakers bring ook hul eie offers, in die vorm van wyn natuurlik, wat aan die Stellenbosch Hospice-organisasie geskenk word.

Met parstyd op hande en die weer wat tog so onvoorspelbaar is, brande wat in Slanghoek, Stanford en Bainskloof verwoesting saai en hittegolwe wat die delikate geure in ʼn oogwink kan laat verdwyn, is dit werklik ʼn wonderwerk om ʼn goeie oes te hê. So in die woorde van Laurika Rauch se bekende en geliefde Mannetjies Roux liedjie, My oom het gesukkel op die plaas, want die son was te warm en die reën te skaars … en seën my ma, en seën my pa en my oom op sy plaas in Afrika.

by Edo Heyns

Nope, I’m not referring to kinky dripping chocolate and strawberries dipped in cream stuff. (The photo is just here to boost the blog’s hits …) Gastro porn is a term used to describe photos of fancy food that are dominating cyberspace. We’ve all seen it: those eager eaters that take their smartphone chargers along just in case the battery runs out before pudding is served and photographed. Immediately.

Maybe it’s just me, but if an obsessive need to let the world know that you are eating foie gras/chalmar beef/Norwegian Salmon/KFC becomes an instinctive reaction, you are certainly starting to miss the finer nuances of life.

The same applies to snapping every fancy label you come across – probably the worst form of name dropping there is. Okay fine, if you’ve had a bottle of 1986 Klein Constantia Sauvignon Blanc and you feel it is of interest to the wine community to know that it is still awesome, I can live with that. This is the fine line between sharing and bragging.

My rule of thumb before tweeting or updating any of my 2 365 statuses, is to ask these three questions:

-          Does anyone care?

-          Could this cheer up someone’s day?

-          Will my pathetic Blackberry battery make it?