Excitement Mounts As Wine Estates Confirmed For Wine On Water Festival Brought To You By Investec

Photo Darren Peens

St Francis Bay – Sales have been brisk for the inaugural Wine on Water festival in St Francis Bay on the canals, and it seems that it is going to be a popular wine-tasting event. The local community, as well as wine lovers from far afield have been snapping up the limited offer tickets, and there could be a scramble for the remaining tickets as we get closer to the time of the event.

There are 20 wine states confirmed, as well as a gin and a rum producer on the confirmation list. We will be revealing the wine estates over the next few days via our Facebook Page and website, but we can confirm that Tokara Wine Estate, Warwick Wine Estate and Newton Johnson Wines will be joined by Hogan Wines, with their roots in Cape St Francis, as well as local rum distillery One33 Craft Rum. The remaining wine estates will be revealed soon, along with the gin distillery.

(Tickets are R475 pp, and for those of you who are already starting to feel some FOMO at this stage, grab your tickets here before reading on – https://bit.ly/2uIvdB5)

The brainchild of the Rotary Club Of St Francis, the Wine On Water festival is a unique concept that consists of those 20 fine wine estates setting up tasting decks at private homes on the canals in St Francis, and festival goers will be delivered on river barges to these tasting decks. It is a controlled environment, with water marshals, and systems in place to ensure the safety and enjoyment of everyone.

This water-borne wine tasting concept is something quite inimitable and can only be pulled off in a place like St Francis Bay. With the remarkable canal systems, the beautiful houses, and the generous and accommodating local owners, the event is sure to be a huge success. The WoW committee has also stated that they will be using local vendors and suppliers where possible, and will only be reaching out beyond the area if needed. TOPS at the Superspar Village Square is the retail partner, and they will be processing wine orders for all customers.

WoW will take place on the 27th and 28^th March. Tastings begin at 12 noon and ends at sunset on both days, when a whole new party kicks off at the Quaysyde Restaurant and marquee tent. There will be delicious, locally produced artisanal food available, more craft drinks on offer, live music for all with the Grosvenor Road Band, and a whole lot of good times to be had at Quaysyde. The night time entertainment will add another whole dimension to the weekend’s festivities.

TCS WiFi will be setting up a free, high-speed hot-spot at Quaysyde– so that revellers can upload their images and video clips to social media, or set up Facebook Live Streams to share their good times. Hashtags are #wowstfrancis #wineonwaterstfrancis

The WoW Festival is a charity event, with all proceeds going to the upliftment of the local community when and where needed. There is a cap on ticket sales, as there is only a certain number of water taxis and amenities available, and tickets are being snapped up. As an inaugural event, the organisers have stated that they will not be releasing more tickets, to ensure that the wine-tasting runs smoothly and that everyone who has a ticket can enjoy the festival to the fullest.

Tickets are R475pp and are limited. They can be booked here https://www.quicket.co.za/events/97240-wine-on-water-st-francis-bay/?preview=t#/

To find out more please visit www.wineonwater.co.za and should you have any hassles with booking your tickets online please email us on [email protected]

Distributed by Truth Collective

[email protected]
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by W1N30NW4T3R

WOW festival coming to SFB Canals

© Darren Peens

St Francis Bay – Out of the traditional world of seated wine tasting and liberal palate cleansing, something original and fresh has emerged and is coming to the village of St Francis Bay. For those people who love to be on the fore-front of exciting occasions and happenings, this is one you do not want to miss out on.

What:

Wine On Water (WoW) is a brand-new wine tasting sensation coming to St Francis. It is a unique, water-transported wine tasting event that will see 20 wine estates set up in gorgeous houses on the canals, and will see water taxis delivering festival-goers to their wine tasting stations located at one splendid deck after another.

A hop-on hop-off experience, WoW is set to redefine wine tasting in the St Francis area, and the inaugural event is going to blow minds. It will deliver the basics of any traditional wine tasting event, being See, Swirl, Smell, Sip and of course Swallow, but by taking place on the splendid water-ways of the St Francis canals, it will be an incredible way to spend the weekend in St Francis. The 20 estates will have 120 of the best South African wines on offer, as well as some exquisite gin and rum tastings in the mix. There will be snacks and canapés at each deck to go with the tastings, so all patrons will be catered for.

Where:

WoW will be based at Quaysyde, with the wine tastings taking place on the decks of selected private homes on the canals. There will be 20 decks to visit over the two day period, and festival-goers will have their afternoons filled with fun, laughter and amazing wines as they cruise the canals in an innovative rendering of the traditional booze cruise.

When:

WoW will take place on the 27th and 28th March. Tastings begin at 12 noon and end at sunset on both days, when a whole new party kicks off at the Quaysyde Restaurant and marquee tent. There will be delicious, locally produced artisanal food available, more craft drinks on offer, live music for all and a whole lot of good times to be had at Quaysyde. The night time entertainment will add another whole dimension to the weekend’s festivities.

Why:

A team of dedicated St Francis Bay Rotarians are putting this great event together for the betterment of the village, and to uplift sections of the community less fortunate than themselves.

WoW organisers are only utilising local businesses, vendors and service providers for all their day-to-day needs over the two-day festival in a bid to make it a community-first project, and all proceeds from the weekend will go towards various St Francis Rotary projects in the region.

Who:

There will be a fine selection of some of the best wine producers in the country, with 20 of the top wine estates in attendance. Details to follow.

Tickets are R475pp and are limited. They can be booked here https://www.quicket.co.za/events/97240-wine-on-water-st-francis-bay/?preview=t#/

The tickets will definitely sell out for the inaugural year, so book early to avoid disappointment.

To find out more please visit www.wineonwater.co.za and should you have any hassles with booking your tickets online please email us on [email protected]

Ditributed by Truth Collective

[email protected]
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by W1N30NW4T3R

WOW 2023 Raffle Winner

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CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNER!!

The winner of our the 2023 Wine on Water Raffle for 31 cases generously donated by each of the estates attending this year’s event was a delighted Peter Carey, a St Francis Bay resident, seen here accepting his prize from raffle master, Rotarian Tom Roux.

Thank you to all of the estates for so happily supporting our fundraiser and all those hopefuls who bought tickets which – literally WOW!!! – raised over R100 000.00! Every penny raised by the raffle and the Wine on Water event goes to the Rotary Club of St Francis projects and local charities benefitting our community.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to making Wine on Water the great success that it is – particularly to our sponsors Investec and to the Quays for hosting our registration and launch site.

Cheers!
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by W1N30NW4T3R

WOW 2022 Ticket Holder Proceedings

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The Rotary Club of St Francis and Investec are once again hosting Wine on Water, which takes place on the beautiful St Francis Bay waterways on 24 & 25 February 2023. The event is the Club’s flagship fundraising event, and all proceeds go toward community upliftment projects and local charities.

A hop-on hop-off experience, ticketholders will have the opportunity to taste wines from over 30 wine estates with some of the best South African wines on offer, as well as some award winning locally produced gin and craft beer.

Members of the public also have an opportunity to win a case of what’s on offer by purchasing a raffle ticket on Quicket for R200 per ticket.

The event is completely sold out but for those lucky enough to have tickets here’s how to get started :

You must present the ticket documentation that you received from Quicket when arriving at the ticket desk at The Quays Restaurant located in Sea Glades Drive to register and collect your WoW kit. You can present this information on your cell phones however, we recommend you print this documentation out if possible.

If you booked through Quicket and can’t find your tickets, please contact Quicket on 021 424 9308 or [email protected] for them to be re-sent to you.

We encourage you to register in advance to beat the queue!

Collect your wrist band, WoW souvenir tasting tasting glass and map at the ticket desk from 12h00 until 17h00 on Thursday 23rd February and from 10h00 to 16h00 on Friday 24^th and Saturday 25^th February at the ticket desk at Quays Restaurant in Sea Glades Drive.

Your Map and information booklet contains everything you need to know along with notes on event etiquette, and other useful information.

NB : Your WoW wrist band must be worn at all times during the event to give you access to the barges and wine tasting decks. NO BAND, NO ENTRY!

Once registered, you can plan your route and start from 12 noon on both Friday 24th & Saturday 25^th at any point on the WoW map. Remember you can move between tasting points by barge, vehicle, Tuk Tuk service or on foot.

Please note : The Rotary Club of St Francis accepts no responsibility for tickets which have not been bought on the official sales platform at Quicket.

What you need to know for a happy and safe WoW experience :

Wear your wristband at all times – NO BAND NO ENTRY !
Please respect the wine hosting properties which have been donated for your enjoyment, tastings are restricted to the deck / garden area only.
Toilets are available for guests to use, please do not trespass beyond the bathroom area – these are private homes.
Wine tasting is only allowed on the deck in the tasting area – no drinking / smoking on jetties or barges
For your safety and comfort please wear flat shoes if travelling on the barges. No high heels will be allowed.
The jetties can hold limited numbers of people at one time. The Jetty Manager will advise when it is safe to move on/off the barge. Please wait for his direction.
This is an over 18 event, no children.
When buying wine please arrange delivery or collection with the wine farm. No boxes of wine to be taken onto the barges.
Food and water will be available at various points on the route, no food consumption on barges.
The barges will move in a clockwise direction only around the route on the canals. You can join the event from any point on the route once you have collected your wristband.
There is no limit to how many times you travel the route – by land or water.
The barge skipper and jetty manager have the authority to refuse access to barges to anyone deemed unfit for travel. Their word is final
Be responsible – don’t drink and drive – see the back page of the programme for local taxi services
Enjoy your WoW experience!

Keep an eye on our Website (www.wineonwater.co.za), Facebook (www.facebook.com/WoWRotarySF) and Instagram pages for more information on the participating wine estates and any other news and tips.
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by W1N30NW4T3R

Wine on Water 2022 - What a Jol!

It’s a strange concept involving incredible logistics and heavy carrying. Still, in essence, Rotary St Francis organised and held 50 different parties over Friday and Saturday, with refreshments.

Without wishing to detract from the finesse and polished acts of some of the incredible wine stations over the Wine On Water weekend, each station involved strangers, a few groupings of friends and some old friends getting together, talking friendly chat and banter, some music, a few designated barge drivers, drinking wine, people enjoying the beauty of our environment and have a few snacks to go with it all. Isn’t that, in essence, what a party is?

Why 50?

There were 24 stations and the HQ, that is, The Quays and the event took place over two days, so 25 parties twice are 50 parties.

Wine On Water 2022 was 50 very cool parties, back-to-back, brought to us by Rotary St Francis. What a jol. Highlights were too many to mention. The barge with the Progressive House music blasting was one, stations 7 and 8 was a combined house party from De Grendel and Mt Vernon that was hard to leave, and Warwick had some excellent hamburgers going down at just the right time to soak up some of the grape juice. Eagles Nest at Big Time Taverna was fun, and the rest of the stations were all pumping, especially towards the end.

Anton Smit sculptures lit up the stations, and the gees and friendly vibes were quite a thing to experience.
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Strangers made friends with other strangers, old friends reunited for the first time in ages, some even in years, locals assisted at stations that were undermanned and under pressure (thanks, Shelley). But, all in, the vibe was just really relaxed.

As an inaugural event, Wine On Water 2022 shot the lights out, which is equally celebratory and problematic at the same time. Celebratory that a truly wonderful event was pulled off with complete success. Problematic in the fact that, where to from here? To up the game in 2023 will be a helluva thing, but I’m sure that the team who managed this year’s event has a few more tricks up their collective sleeve. Well done to Investec for having the vision to support this amazing event.
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For those that attended, that was awesome. Thanks for the good times. For those that didn’t participate, there’s always next year. For those two little kids who took my party back to The Quays in their little boat, despite us shouting and screaming at all and sundry and being as difficult as possible, you little champs!
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by W1N30NW4T3R

2022 Wine On Water a Great Success

The Rotary Club of St Francis would like to thank the broader community of St Francis for the resounding support for our Wine on Water event. We would also like to acknowledge and thank our sponsors Investec, for having the vision to believe in this event and to stand by us through two years of COVID down time. We hope to welcome Investec back as our event’s sponsors for many years to come!

The event has raised over R200 000.00 towards the many projects our Club supports and administers and this is in no short measure due to our community getting behind us to ensure the event’s success.

In particular we need to thank those home owners who generously allowed us to host wine estates on their beautiful decks, the many barge and boat owners who offered us the use of their boats and skippers to transport our guests on the waterways and to all those who volunteered and worked selflessly and tirelessly behind the scenes without whom managing the logistics would have been nearly impossible.

A special word of thanks must go to the young men and women of Sea Vista who were employed over the two days as deck and street marshals. They embraced the opportunity with enthusiasm and their work was so appreciated by our guests that they received a standing ovation at Quays Restaurant as they came off the barges at the end of the event.

Last but certainly not least a big thank you to the wine estates who supported the event so professionally and the various food vendors and restaurants who threw in their support wholeheartedly!

We hope to welcome you all back next year!

So – Save the date – 24^th and 25^th February 2023!

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by W1N30NW4T3R

Photo Gallery for Wine On Water 2022

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Photo Credits to Sandy Coffey

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by W1N30NW4T3R

W1N30NW4T3R

Excitement Mounts As Wine Estates Confirmed For Wine On Water Festival Brought To You By Investec

WOW festival coming to SFB Canals

What:

Where:

When:

Why:

Who:

WOW 2023 Raffle Winner

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNER!!

WOW 2022 Ticket Holder Proceedings

Wine on Water 2022 - What a Jol!

All images © Sandy Coffey Photography

2022 Wine On Water a Great Success

So – Save the date – 24th and 25th February 2023!

Photo Gallery for Wine On Water 2022

Photo Credits to Sandy Coffey

So – Save the date – 24^th and 25^th February 2023!