A wine festival in the hood, “who would have thought?”, was what I thought last year when I was approached to attend my first Soweto Wine Festival. I had been to couple of festivals in the Northern Suburbs, Cape Town and Stellenbosch but never one almost up the road from my house. I attended my first wine festival with my best drinking buddies, my cousins who also happen to be my best friends, and low-key wine lovers themselves, even though they have a horrible tendency of drinking their red wine chilled *cringe* .
After coming up with the bright idea of introducing a wine festival to Soweto , Co-founder of the Soweto Wine & Lifestyle Festival, Mnikelo Mangciphu says that the wine festival was “dedicated to encouraging, educating and growing black wine drinkers in Mzansi.” I love that. I grew up seeing my mother and aunts drink and appreciate really great wine so this dedication to the growth and appreciate of other black wine drinkers was definitely something that I support.
This year’s festival takes place from 3-5 March 2017 at the vibrant Soweto Theatre. After 11 years running, the Soweto Wine & Lifestyle Festival is a must-attend event for every wine lover across South Africa, seeing most wine connoisseurs around the country travel to Soweto every year to be in attendance. This lovely festival brings Western Cape’s most acclaimed wines into Gauteng, more specifically, Soweto, exposing Sowetans to the country’s most prestigious wine-drinking culture.
This year for the 11th annual Soweto Lifestyle & Wine festival, I will be partnering up with Hermanuspieterfontein Wines. I will be giving away 2 tickets to the Soweto Wine & Lifestyle Festival, one case of bubbly (that’s 6 bottles!) and another case of mixed red wine! Super exciting right?
For those of you who haven’t come across the Hermanuspieterfontein brand, I would love to share their story, it is quiet a fascinating one.. The name itself already had me curious, known for being the wine with the longest Afrikaans name in the world, the story of Hermanuspieterfontein started in the early 1800s. Farmers from the Overberg region imported a teacher by the name of Hermanus Pieters to teach their children in Dutch, the forerunner to the Afrikaans language. These farmers paid in sheep, the sheep used to graze at fountain and camped under the Milkweed trees near the sea. This spot soon became known as Hermanus Pieters’ Fontein. 20 years after the Passing of good ol’ Hermanus Pieter, the village was named after him, Hermanus as we know it today.
In 2005 the Hermanuspieterfontein Wine cellar was founded and it was decided that the original name of the village would be adopted and used to name the wine, they also made a pledge that the brand’s label copy would be in Afrikaans. So What’s the relevance of sheep in the Hermanuspieterfontein story you may ask? Well, everything! Was it not for his sheep, Hermanus Pieters would;t have camped at the fountain, under the milkwoods, near the sea and the site would have never been named after him.
I am looking for three very lucky winners that can walk away with one of three prizes from Hermanuspietersfontein Wines. One double ticket to the Soweto Wine & Lifestyle Festival, 1x case of bubbly or 1 x cased of mixed red wine! each case contains 6 bottles! insane!
So how do you enter? Read the above post and tell me the relevance of the sheep in the Hermanuspietersfontein Wines story. Comment below and the winner will be selected.
Winners to be announced 19 February 2017! Good Luck!
xo
Twiggy Moli
Soweto Wine & Lifestyle Festival:
3-5 March 20173
Soweto Theatre
Ticket prices range from R120-R180 (early bird tickets available)
“Wine should be a way of life for all South Africans.”
Farmers in the Ovenberg employed Hermanus Pieters to teach their kids Dutch. They paid him in sheep. The sheep grazed at the fountain and camped under the Milkweed tree, by the sea.
Hermanus Pieters would not have camped there had it not been for the sheep
I believe had it not been bacause of the sheep then the farmers would have moved to another place to seek better prospects.However now these sheep kept them grounded and the place greq to be a well known place.Sheep where thier source of income and a lagecy was built through that
Today we have Hermunuspietersfontein because of these sheep and a wise man.
His sheep grazed the fountain, if it was not for the sheep Hermanus Pieters wouldn’t have camped at the fountain, under the milkwoods, near the sea and the site would have never been named after him.
Hi Honey! Please send me your email address! x
The sheep were Hermanus Pieters payment to come to the area to teach and where they set up camp to let them graze, became known as Hermanuspietersfontein, therefore without sheep, there’d be no teacher and the area would never have been named Hermanuspietersfontein!
Hermanus was paid in sheep and he camped where hey grazed near the fountain under the milk woods near the sea, and therefore the area wouldn’t have been named Hermanus if it were not for he sheep😊
P.S the wine festival happens on my birthday but I can’t go💔
Hi, beautiful! Please send me your email address, maybe you deserve a case of wine for your birthday anyways! x
Hey Twigz, my email address is omonamodi@gmail.com
Xx
Regina
If it wasn’t for the sheeps,Hermanus Pieter would not have stayedthere. Andthe place wouldn’t be known as Hermanuspieterfontiennor the wine named after it
Hermanus Peiter camped there by the fountaun. under the milkwoods, near the sea and because of the sheeps paid to him for his services.the site would not be named after him if wasn’t for the sheeps
Hi Gorgeous! Please send me your email address! You are one of my winners! x
Yey!! Winetutorials@gmail.com
Hermanus Pieters was a teacher that was imported to teach in the village but only means of payment the farmers could pay him was by giving him sheep.Hermanus’s sheep graze at fountain and camped under the milkweed trees near the sea. This spot soon became known as
Hermanus Pieters’ Fontein.Had it not been his sheep that were living and being on that site ,the site wouldn’t been named after him.
Hermanus Pieters was a teacher that was imported to teach in the village but only means of payment the farmers could pay him was by giving him sheep.Hermanus’s sheep graze at fountain and camped under the milkweed trees near the sea. This spot soon became known as
Hermanus Pieters’ Fontein.Had it not been his sheep that were gazing and camping on that site ,the site wouldn’t been named after him.