Wine on Water

All photos by Sandy Coffey photography.

After a pandemic-delayed star, the charity event, Wine On Water, finally took place on Friday and Saturday 25th and 26 February. It was an extraordinary success.

On paper, the wine festival looked like it was always a success. Still, the logistics behind it did seem at times insurmountable. Many punters, 24 wine stations, food stations, parking areas, river barges and tuk-tuks, people to be fed, and loads and loads of wine to be consumed. It was quite a feat.

We decided to do it differently and started off at the One33 Station. Our journey, therefore, started off some autumn gin, dark rum, a sniff of brandy and then the new and delicious Rosemary and Black Olive Gin.

To say that the first stop got us into the mood for Wine On Water would be an understatement. Thanks, Rodney Milford.

We got going and headed off to the next stop. The wine stations were amazing, with each station having a personality and a vibe behind it. The barge rides were cool, and we had loads of fun and banter, interspersed by the occasional nervous comments from non-locals. St Francis Bay people are not shy of having a good time.

On a few occasions, we decided to walk, if the stations were close enough, to allow the wine to filter through our systems and get our steps up etc.

Without wishing to detract from any fantastic wine stations, our favourites were the amazing De Grendel and Mt Vernon stations, Warwick, Keermont, Mellasat and the Eagle’s Nest station.

An amusing diversion was a barge filled with 20 young girls having a bachelorette party. As they drove past us, the bride-to-be shouted out to Us, ‘I’m about to be married, what must do? I need some advice, pleeeeeaaassse....”

The comments from our wine station were plentiful and hilarious and might or might not have contained words like, ‘have you go a few hours? ‘lots of porking, ‘don’t ever get off that boat’ and ‘shame you poor thing’, but these comments cannot be repeated in this family magazine in their entirety.

As we continued around the loop, the time flew by until it was time to hang up the tasting glasses and head for the Quays. The party continued for a while before the combination of gin, wine, sun, laughter, and good times started climbing all over our collective brains, and it was time to retreat. St Francis Rotary and all the organisers and assistants, workers, and wine stations have set the bar for this event. Well done, and congratulations. Also, well done to Investec for having the vision to support such a festival. My only advice would be for everyone to be quick on their game when next year’s tickets are released because they won’t be available for very long.