Le Carnaval Du Vin.

So myself and Simon thought it would be a good idea to throw a little party, to celebrate our Alphabetical wine and also give us a great excuse to drink a whole lot of it with a bunch of good friends. Not really a wine launch, since we’ve been selling it for almost two months now, just a good party. We wanted to keep it very un-winey, no pretentious restaurant, fancy stemware or tiny canapés. Instead we themed it carnival, threw up a tent on a private farm in Constantia, served the wine in tumblers and tucked into hearty coq au vin, made of course with the wine itself by the good sister at Cookshop. We also had the Lada Bros play some awesome music and had plenty laughs with a super cool photo-board done for us by am.i.collective.

Everything went perfectly, except the weather. It wasn’t just the coldest day of the year so far, but also what seemed to be the first winter storm. While the Lada Bros jammed hard, rain attacked the tent from all sides and people hunkered down under the heaters. Naturally the wine helped warm things up and we still managed to have a great time.

Attached are a few pics from the day, as well as what may be a world first: video tasting notes of Alphabetical by wine writer Harry Haddon, under the influence of helium. Spliced with a few clips of the standard issue mayhem you’d expect at the very end of a wine party… do enjoy.

And the video…

*Thanks to Francois Botha and Andrew Brauteseth for some of the pics.