Winter is
full of festivals isn’t it? Well, it certainly is in the wine world with events
at Stellenbosch and Limpopo last weekend, events in Robertson and Hermanus this
weekend, Soweto wine festival coming up at the end of the month and everywhere
we turn seeming to be an excuse to drink wine.
Don’t get me wrong – I’m as fond
of a glass of wine as the next girl – but I am beginning to wonder if we’ve got
these festivals right.
Too full for fun?
Last year I
was at the Franschhoek Bastille festival – and swore ‘never again’. This year I
was at Stellenbosch on ‘student Saturday’ which is not something I will be
returning to in a hurry.
The Bastille Festival had nearly 4,000 people in one
big sweaty tent this year, Stellenbosch had in excess of 6,000 on Saturday,
Robertson Wacky Wine Weekend had more than 16,000 over the duration of the
festival!
I have to ask – how is it possible to have a good time when things
are that busy? Parking is a nightmare, you can’t talk to the winemakers, drunk people
are strewn all over the floor – is this the best way for us to show off our
wines?
On the other hand
There are
festivals that do manage to be busy and workable at the same time – and, in
defence of the ones I’ve just named, Sunday at Franschhoek Bastille Festival
was extremely pleasant and comfortable and I understand that the Thursday
Connoisseurs Evening at Stellenbosch was absolutely fabulous with space, time,
lovely wines and chatty winemakers galore.
Should we perhaps designate one day
as ‘Drunken Party Day’ and get it over and done with, so that serious
wine-drinkers can indulge their tastes – and their wallets – in relative peace
and quiet?
Is it safe?
I’m no angel when it comes to drinking copious
amounts of wine, but between me and my husband, we do try extremely hard not to
drink and drive – thanks Goodfellas for helping with that! Both Robertson and
Stellenbosch have made strenuous efforts to lay on shuttle buses for the
festivals, but on the evidence of Saturday when cars were parked in every
available inch of a three kilometre radius, I’m not sure how much they were
used. And just in terms of logistics and security – are all these festivals
geared up if there was a fire or bomb scare?
If people attend these events, can
they be sure that security personnel are on hand to keep them safe whilst they
enjoy themselves? Sadly, I know from friends, this hasn’t always been the case.
Wine
festivals are great fun, a wonderful way of relaxing with friends and family by
tasting lovely wines and enjoying delicious food – all my favourite things in
life.
Obviously we all want to do the same kind of thing and I don’t want to
stop visiting these events, but now that they are getting INSANELY popular,
perhaps it is time for the organisers to take a fresh look at how they manage
their affairs.
We’ve all been to good ones, and I suspect we’ve all been to bad
ones too, so let us have your thoughts on festivals in general and what we think they
could do better.