Wine Ous Make Barrels

BIG 'UN: Photos don't do justice to just how tough it was out there. Photo Adriaan Oelofse

In fact, you could say the carnage continued in a less adrenaline-inducing way at the Press Room restaurant and bar, a stone's throw from the legendary Inverroche Gin distillery where prizes were handed out, and a rowdy auction raised more than R92,000 for what has virtually become the official charity Surf4Life.

The charity was founded as a surf event in 2011 to fund cancer treatment for surfer Taryn Pratt, who since passed away, her friends and compatriots in the wine industry continue her vision to assist disadvantaged communities through surf therapy and fund raising.

Part of this fund-raising, and perhaps the most unique part of the fabled Vintners Surf Classic, which began in 2000 at Onrus but now happens at Stilbaai every year, is the BIG RED magnum that has become synonymous with the contest.

The BIG RED comprises five litres of wine donated by each contestant, and blended masterfully this year by Alex Starey at Keermont, where it was hand-labelled and packaged. A bottle was given to each contestant and sponsor to thank them for their contributions.

SEVEN MAGNUMS: Grangehurst winemaker Jeremy Walker has built up a collection of Big Reds.

The wine industry carries all associated costs of the BIG RED, from the wine itself, the bottle, the coopers (barrel suppliers) and the packaging suppliers, which enables all incoming money from sales to go direct to Surf4Life after the event.

The 2022 iteration of this soulful blend of surfing and wine making returned to Stilbaai after a horrible two years. The contest was wiped out in 2020 due to COVID, but took off again in 2021, a scaled down version that saw a mere 20 winemakers pitch up as pandemic lockdowns lingered.

But the elastic snapped back with a zealous and robust twang in 2022, with 50 surfers in the wine industry participating, excluding assorted hangers on, friends, families and sponsors that had the Press Room restaurant boisterously bursting to capacity after a day dodging dik waves.

Neptune came to the party, not at the Press Room but at Stilbaai Point in the hours before, bearing gifts comprising kegs of pressurised power that turned the right hand point break at Stilbaai into a foaming cauldron as sets of up to 8ft - and a few bigger - came barrelling through to make life difficult for more than a few contestants.

KABOOM! Some of the vintners are seriously talented surfers who know how to smash a wave.

However, as the spring low tide turned and the pushing tide brought more water over the reef, so did the lines of swell start to sort themselves into walling freight trains with a slightly easier takeoff, and gravity-defying air drops for surfers in four divisions: “Juniors” (under 40 bwahaha!), Seniors (40-49), Ballies (50+) and Women.

For the latter division, entrants have grown from one to four. For years, Trizanne Barnard of Trizanne Signature Wines was the solo female. She showed her mettle with the men, often making it through rounds. She'd invariably hold the womens trophy aloft at the prize giving.

However, she has a solid rivalry now, and had to settle for second to winner Sarah Havard of Kershaw Wines. Sarah was not present at the prizegiving after spraining her ankle on her way out of the water in the women's final. Shannon Morse of Bouchard Finlayson and Lucinda Heyns from Illimis took third and fourth respectively.

"Another fun surf competition spent with the best people! The competition was extremely tough this year. It was so nice to have Shannon join the ladies' division to keep us on our toes. I can't wait for next year," Havard said.

OPEN FACE: Swimmer Anthony Pearse had tongues wagging with amazing bodysurf skills.

The divisions accommodate other board riders, no matter how niche (their numbers do not justify a separate division). Johan Rademan of Vineyard Connection and Sebastian Beaumont of Beaumont Wines are two wine ous who are kneelos, but you have to marvel at the incredible artistry of body surfer Anthony Pearse, owner of Win-Pak. Pearse is one of the best open water swimmers South Africa has produced. On March 3, he broke the record for four Robben Island crossings in one go by more than 30 mins. Basically, he swam from The world record for the fastest husband-and-wife team to swim the English ChannelBlouberg to Robben Island and back, and then repeated it … non-stop. He swam for eight hours, 19 minutes and 47 seconds in icy cold water, wearing only a Speedo, goggles and a cap.

He and his wife, Janine Steenkamp, herself a legendary swimmer, hold the world record for the fastest husband-and-wife team to swim the English Channel. As photographer and contestant Thys Lombard said: “Swimming for hours at Stilbaai Point in huge surf is par for the course for this guy. Tough competitor, be glad he does not surf!

Working our way from the top down, Miles Mossop won the Ballies division with a masterful display of surfing, picking off the set waves and riding them forever and a day: “This is the best event on the calendar. What lovely gees. Such great people. Stoked and humbled to be the winner,” he said.

BIG AND HAIRY: The sponsors start their exhausting paddle into heaving surf. Pic Oelofse

JT van der Westhuizin of Klein Roosboom pulled off a rare tube ride on an insanely steep drop, and managed three good turns to seal his first win in the Seniors division: "It was a huge high point for me surfing against such good surfers who are also amazing people. Thankyou to everyone from Klein Roosboom!"

Jonothan Oxenham of Catherine Marshall Wines said that positioning was key in the big surf, and getting onto the “freight train running down the point was not easy”.

“There was lank water moving out there. The alignment of the storm systems and full moon spring tides is something special and it was amazing to watch. A huge well done to all the surfers. The gees was amazing and it was cool to see how an event like this has given so many kids the opportunity to experience the ocean. It is so powerful. I am stoked on the win.

"And more stoked to be apart of it. To me this is more than a surfing competition. It's a celebration of world class wine and the endless happiness the ocean gives us,” he said, a tear falling in slow motion from his right eye.

MIND THE GAP: A surfer sets up his next move on a crunchy insider. Photo Thys Lombard

Jason Steel found he was made of less steely stuff after his romantic dance with the rocks and a big wet kiss on the reef, which earned him the grand title of Barnacle Boy at the prizegiving. With some time left in the day, six of the sponsors paddled out for their heat to show why they support a surfing event. Dane Raath took first, Ross Lindsay second, Johan Rademan third, Hannes fourth, Adriaan Oelofse fifth and Chris Krige sixth.

And after much impromptu wine tasting, which ended when a chilly rain squall swept through the carpark, the crowds reassembled a few hours later for the after party and prize giving. You can imagine how festive this occasion was after two years of lockdowns, dodging cops to surf and other lockdown shenanigans. The merriment was unleashed with gusto.

SIGNED BOARD: This brandnew stick by Mat Surfboards raised R25,000 for Surf4Life.

These wine ous are a generous lot. Duncan Savage won a brand new M*A*T surfboard but donated it straight back for an auction in aid of Surf4Life. Within minutes, not only had a parted with the prize, but he had coughed up R25,000, on condition that everyone signed the board, which will hang in his wine cellar at Savage Wines.

The auction of various items and surfboards, including a magnum of the 2021 Big Red, raised a whopping R92,000 that went to Surf4Life thanks partly to the semi naked antics of Greg Warner and Roger Burton whose hairy buns were blatantly and shamelessly exploited by the fairer sex to create some extra froth amongst the punters, with Mooi Cobus proudly looking on as his gear was also sold to the highest bidder.

Carlos Nobrego, a sponsor from the Chapmans Peak Hotel in Cape Town summed it up: "Julle mense rock! It was a privilege, as always, to participate in this event. Great energy, great banter, old world gees, new friendships and memories that last. Kudos to Miguel (Ribas of RR Wine Technology), the support teams and the local community structures. Looking forward to next year. Obrigado."

WARNING: Greg Warner used his manly muscles to work the crowd up into a froth.

PLEASE SUPPORT Surf4Life

Purchase a magnum of beautifully crafted BIG RED 2014 for Surf4Life. The individual components for this 4-star Platter wine were donated by 25 surfing vintners – a total of 1,250 litres of Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon & Pinotage.

All costs were covered by the winemakers, the coopers (barrel suppliers) and the packaging suppliers. All income will be donated to Surf4Life. A total of 702 magnums of BIG RED were bottled in August 2016 and about 600 are available for sale at a price of R1,890 per case of three x 1.5 litre bottles. This is like getting a R500 bottle of wine for R300

Surf4Life provides opportunities for children – mainly from disadvantaged backgrounds – to connect with the world of surfing, making them part of a lifestyle that celebrates the fun and excitement of this healthy sport. It’s all about developing people, building friendships, and welcoming people into the surfing family.

All sales and deliveries are being administered by Johan Rademan and Lara Philp of Vineyard Connection (contact details below), who have been an integral part of the Vintners Surf Classic for more than 10 years.

The Vineyard Connection, Stellenbosch
https://www.vineyardconnection.co.za/BigRed
021 884-4360 / 0860 360-360
wine@vineyardconnection.co.za

RESULTS

Ballies
Miles Mossop - Miles Mossop Wines
Rudi Schultz - Thelema
Bevan Newton Johnson - Newton Johnson
Anthony de Jager - Fairview

Seniors
JT van der Westhuizen - Klein Roosboom
Gunter Schultz - Baleia Wines
Duncan Savage - Savage Wines
Alex Starey - Keermont

Juniors
Jonothan Oxenham - Catherine Mashall Wines
Jan Solms - Rudi Shultz Wines
Christo le Riche - Le Riche Wines
Tom Orpen - Warwick

Ladies
Sarah Havard - Kershaw Wines
Trizanne Barnard - Trizanne Barnard Signature Wines
Shannon Morse - Bouchard Finlayson
Lucinda Heyns - Illimis

Sponsors
Dane Raath
Ross Lindsay
Johan Rademan
Hannes
Adriaan Oelofse
Chris Krige