Winemaker Hilko Hegewisch visits Lagos
Friday, 7 May, 2010
Prof John van Zyl for Solms-Delta
Imagine this. A High Life club on Victoria Island in Lagos. The music is loud, alternating between the beat of 2face Idibia and the subversive lyrics of Fela Kuti, still revered by the people.
The dancing is feverish and the colourful kaba's of the women compete with the equally colourful sokoto's of the stylish men. The shelves of the bar are stocked high with magnums of pricey French champagne, bottles of single malt whiskey and cognac.
But what are the movers and shakers in Nigeria drinking? Cape Jazz Shiraz!
What is the drink of choice of the upmarket wedding caterers? A sparkling red wine from Solms-Delta! If you don't believe me, ask Hilko Hegewisch, the winemaker at Solms-Delta wine estate in Franschhoek who has just come back from Lagos. He had arranged the shipment of a seriously large consignment of Solms-Astor Cape Jazz Shiraz for Prince Jide Adanuga, a scion of the wealthy Adanuga family.
"It really is the wine of choice in the better clubs and restaurants in Lagos," says Hilko, "But, they have this custom, they don't drink wine with the meal, they enjoy it afterwards when they are relaxing or dancing." He paused and shook his head. "To think that the wine that our guests were drinking on the lawn outside the Fyndraai restaurant during the Saturday Summer concerts is being enjoyed 6000km away on the West Coast of Africa."
I must say, having put away more than several bottles of Cape Jazz Shiraz while listening to Les Javan or Robbie Jansen, I think that the smart folk in Nigeria are onto a good thing. And their music isn't bad either.
Prof. John van Zyl is a retired professor of communications (WITS) now living in Franschhoek with his wife, Charlotte, who is administrator of the Delta Trust and Wijn de Caab Trust at Solms-Delta.
Winemaker Hilko Hegewisch
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