And, like artists getting their due for the magic they make in their studios, the accent of the festival series ‘Wine Plus: Personality’ falls on the colourful and inventive individuals in the business of wine: well-known cellar craft masters, an outspoken critic, a star viticulturist, and one of the greatest wine story-tellers.
Add to this two new late-afternoon discussions, the enormously popular tasting of the Wine Critics’ Choice, and the first few days of FynArts is wine-lovers’ time.
Curated for the fourth year by Melvyn Minnaar, the theme and concept “personality” suggests someone (presenter) or something (wine) that is beyond the ordinary, outstanding, and even unusual. To this end, he has asked six presenters to select wines of “personality”. The choice is individual, but the responsibility challenging and bound to be fun.
Sessions are daily over the first four days, at 12.00 and 15.00, with the two late-afternoon demo-talks at 17.00. Tickets can be bought individually or in sets.
On Saturday, June 10, Pieter Ferreira starts the fun. South Africa’s foremost sparkling wine expert will no doubt bring plenty of bubblies along. Late the same afternoon he will talk about glasses, bubbles, the future in “About Méthode Cap Classique with Pieter Ferreira”.
The afternoon session will have Duimpie Bayly, a man with strong roots in the beautiful legacy of local wine, recall great moments and legends. He has promised to show some vintage wines.
On Sunday, June 11, at noon, another legend, Jan Boland Coetzee of Vriesenhof will talk about soil and climate, the effect on varietals and offer wines to show that fine-tuning. He says “Wine is the memory of terroir – expressing an evolving and changing memory – also a place from vintage to vintage – confirming the historic relationship between nature and man.”
That afternoon Rosa Kruger talks more about wine heritage. The country’s pioneering “old vine” viticulturist, her passion has led to the documentation of the oldest vines, and inspires leading “young guns” to make wine true to their nature. Expect super wines.
On Monday, June 12 at noon, Ntsiki Biyela, a groundbreaking winemaker that shifted the cultural, gender and race definition of cellar expertise, will recall her experience and history and pour the wines that influenced her. Having anchored the cellar Stellakaya for years, she now flies under her own wonderful Aslina label.
Another pioneer. Razvan Macici takes up the story at 15.00. Until recently head of wine at Distell, he previously drove the prestige Nederburg brand to new and adventurous heights. Precision, knowledge, and skill got him there. Let’s see how he demonstrates that with wines.
Tuesday, June 13, one of the country’s foremost wine critics will pour his “personality” choices. Christian Eedes is a judge, organiser of various top-end competitions and editor of on-line Wine Magazine, which provides wine ratings virtually every day, few commentators are so well placed for an overview of the state of our industry.
That afternoon, at 17.00, he will talk about ratings and the controversies of the manner and means. He has promised to prove his point with what will be poured into the glass.
But earlier that afternoon, at 15:00, the Wine Critics’ Choice wines will be put on show to the Hermanus FynArts public. It’s a widely-popular presentation that challenges wine critics, writers and judges to nominate one wine only and give reasons. Great fun, but also indicative of personality – both of critic and wine!
Among this year’s critics: Michael Fridjhon, Myrna Robins, Samarie Smith, Tim James, Winnie Bowman, Gregory Mutambe, Christine Rudman and Higgo Jacobs.
Among the labels: Kaapzicht, Stark-Condé, Orpheus & The Raven, Opstal, Sumaridge, Le Sueur, Gabrielskloof, Colmant and Thelema.
'Festivos' stand a chance to win the set of the Wine Critics’ Choice wines by buying a raffle ticket in aid of Hermanus FynArts Development Fund.
Bookings via www.webtickets.co.za or www.hermanusfynarts.co.za.
More Information +27.609575371 / +27.283122629