Quaranvino goes South Africa

As borders open up, there are still some places with amazing wines that we can’t travel to. One of these is… South Africa.

Join us in July for three Saturday night events to discover the magic and the wines of this stunning country. 

South Africa has a wine history dating back to 1659. Over the last few decades, many vine-growers have moved away from selling their grapes to large cooperative cellars, investing in skills and equipment to produce some of the most beautiful wines in the New World. For this series of Quaranvino we have selected three charismatic owners of some of the country’s leading boutique wineries to host a series of evenings in July:

• 11^th July - Kevin Grant of Ataraxia – After 30 vintages Kevin describes himself no longer as a wine-maker or vine-grower but rather a “soil farmer”. He sees it is as his role to assist nature and the terroir to express its best possible result. We are totally enchanted by his poeticism.

• 18^th July – Thomas Webb of Thelema Mountain Vineyard – Thomas’ father bought the Thelema vineyards in Stellenbosch at the beginning of the 1980s and quickly created one of the region’s best-known quality wineries. Thomas is full of stories, super easy-going and has an answer to any question we could throw at him about wine and South Africa.

• 25^th July - Mary Lou Nash of Black Pearl Wines a.k.a The Mischief Maker (you’ll get it when you meet her!) – Mary Lou is a self-taught wine-maker who runs this one-woman-show winery on the slopes of the Paarl mountain. We love her energy and the playful glint in her eye.

All dinners start at 8pm CEST, 7pm UK (BST) 

We have selected 3 wines from each winery (Trio Box). If you would like to enjoy the events but three bottles are too many for you, then we also have the duo box. There is always a “why” and an extra story behind the third bottle, these are the more expensive wines which explains the difference in price between the two packages. The wines are chosen to ensure we enjoy a wide range of grape varieties and styles which are representative of South Africa so there will always be something for everyone’s taste.

TICKETS ARE LIMITED - We like to keep numbers manageable and we have limited stocks of the wines. Wines, recipes and the link to the dinners  will be sent out on Monday 6th July.  

What you get in the ticket price:

• Access to all three events. Dinners are private, closed events.
• 6 or 9 bottles of wines depending on the package you choose
• Shipment of the wines within Germany. We can ship anywhere in the EU (except Sweden & Finland), please choose the International Shipping Supplement when you make your order
• Suggested authentic recipes for each of the wines.
• The chance to meet and mix with the wine producers and fellow diners.
• The feel-good factor - by participating in Quaranvino you're supporting the South African wine industry and we also include a donation to provide a month's worth of nutritional muffins for a school-child in the Western cape. Double whammy.
• Special end-of-series discount on all the wines we drink in the Quaranvino.Wine Pop-up shop  

Quaranvino goes South Africa Wine list:

Ataraxia

• Serenity
• Sauvignon Blanc
• Pinot Noir (Trio Box only)

Thelema

• Muscat de Frotignan
• Thelema Merlot
• Sutherland Chardonnay (Trio Box only)

Black Pearl Wines

• Chenin Blanc
• Oro Blend (Mourvedre, Syrah)
• The Mischief Maker (Trio Box only)

Quaranvino – How you’re supporting South Africa:

Wineries in South Africa have had to endure their government’s decision to ban the sale of alcohol from the end of March until the beginning of June. Restaurants are closed for sit-in guests, it remains unclear when borders will reopen and there are still heavy doubts over whether the tourism season will even happen this year. Quaranvino provides wineries an opportunity to expand their reach and reinforce their brand on export markets in these difficult times. What’s more, for every trio and duo box bought we will also donate a months’ worth of nutritional muffins to a school child in the Western Cape through the Lebenslinien charity. These muffins provide essential vitamins, minerals and iron to children and are sometimes the only meal they eat. The muffins have proved to give a significant increase in cognitive abilities and a drastic reduction in absence from school or kindergarten due to respiratory and gastric diseases.

New to Quaranvino? here's a quick video of how it works: 

FAQ: 

Why do you do events in series? We do series of events from 2-4 events so that we can really look at a certain theme. This means you'll get a better understanding of our country / region / style of wine and it's also way more efficient for us to ship the wines. The cost is the same whether we ship 3, 6 or 12 bottles so its better for you and better for the environment. For the social aspect, it also means that you can really get to know and chat to the people you meet in the chat rooms. We find this creates a really nice dynamic for the dinners when people start getting to know each other. After all - Quaranvino is about connecting people despite the distance. 

What happens if I miss a session? No problem. You still get access to the recipes, information about the wines and an audio recording of the event which will be uploaded to the drive the day after the event. 

How do you select the wines? We look for wineries that above all make great wines and are full of stories to tell. These are wines that you don't find in supermarkets and are all wines that tell as story. We usually select smaller wineries for the event but we are not averse to having larger producers on Quaranvino, the important element is that they are leaders in their field and make really outstanding wines. We are independent, we are event organisers, not wine retailers, this means that we choose wines and wineries because we love them and think they'll make a really entertaining evening.

I don't know much about wine, will it still be fun? YES! Quaranvino is about bringing people together to enjoy wine. Whether you're a wine geek or just a wine drinker, having dinner with the person who made the wine you're drinking is really a unique experience and you're sure to learn something new. You can ask questions either via the moderator or directly. Quaranvino is a safe place, no question is dumb, no-one is judged, we're just here to have fun. 

I live in the UK / Belgium / Poland / the Netherlands etc.... Can I still participate? Yes! we can ship wines for these events anywhere in Europe, please  select the international shipping supplement when you place your order. 

I don't drink a lot of wine but I like the social side of the events, is it for me? Yes! Quaranvino is about enjoying the stories and the background to wine. You don't have to open all the bottles during the evening! Enjoy them at your own pace. If you don't finish it, we suggest putting the cork back in and putting it in the fridge or even better, using a vacuvin wine saver or wine fresh spray to protect from oxidation. You'll be able to keep the wines at their best at least for another few days if not longer! 

I already have an appointment one of those nights - No problem, we have more and more of our guests who are enjoying Quaranvino with friends and family at home. We don't mind how many of you are enjoying the wines with us, the more the merrier!