A Vintage Wedding

It's been a quiet week on the farm as we sit and wait patiently for the Shiraz to ripen fully. Its sugar is still a little low but we're not worried; it's always about 2 weeks behind the rest and we had some good rain just after harvesting the other blocks. Although this has the effect of lowering/stalling the sugar levels of the Shiraz, the rain arrived in perfect time for the other, now berry-bare, vines. Since the harvested blocks are all 'dry' (have no irrigation) they love a good drink post-harvest. Just a shame I didn't have a spare day at the end of the week to throw down some fertiliser before the thundershowers came!

Inspite of the quiet week on the farming front, we're all shattered as we've made the most of our 'week off' with lots of parties and late nights. In addition to two very late nights in Cape Town, our good friends, Richard and Larisa, were married close by, on Valentine's Day in fact, and we shared with them a week full of festivities ranging from a spectacular night out at Madame Zingara's, through to a wonderful wine tour and picnic lunch at Boschendal. The highlight, however, was definitely the wedding day itself, each portion of the day being rich in the cultural heritage of both bride and groom. The ceremony took the form of a traditional Ukranian wedding, but was held in our local Anglican church of St.Georges... it was truly beautiful and even the children participated in the magic by donning special fairy wings bought by Larisa. Richard's family 'tipped the cultural balance' by adding a dash of South African tradition later on, when they presented the bride's father with lobola (in the form of a freshly-shorn sheep!) as payment for the bride. Needlesstosay, he was most put out - he thought she was worth at least 6 head of cattle!