To avoid feeling overwhelmed before 2011 has even really begun, am easing myself in to the year and look forward to attending the 17th Annual Winemaker and Distillers Mass in Stellenbosch on 27th January.
Looking into the history of this international annual celebration, Burgundytoday.com has an interesting anecdote: "Every year on the last weekend of January, the winegrowers in Burgundy celebrate and give thanks to their patron, Saint Vincent. Legends abound as to the origins.
It is said that one day St Vincent stopped at a vineyard to chat to one of the wine growers. His donkey started nibbling the young shoots on the vine with the result that the following year, the crop was far more productive. The Saint's donkey had invented pruning!
Maybe it is just that the time of the celebration corresponds climatically to the transition between the hibernation of the vine and the beginning of the new growth or 'Vincent' is a derivation of 'vin sang' or blood of the vine. However you like to interpret it, this is a celebration which has been going on since Medieval times."
The Mass, which starts at 11:00, takes place at Saint Nicholas Catholic Church in Paul Kruger Street, Stellenbosch and the collection will go to the Stellenbosch Hospice.
For further information and to book for lunch at La Pineta afterwards, e-mail Dave Hughes - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
