Barrel of Fun at Vintners Classic

Monday 16 August 2010

It was another glorious day in the Boland as burly winemakers blended wine and vintage friendships matured over many years to cap another epic Vintners Surf Classic.

The annual big red, the wine contributed by the contestants, was quaffed later that night in celebration of another fun surf day. Again, the usual suspects attended the event, from staffers, bottlers, wine makers, sommeliers to sponsors and their families. This was the eleventh year of the Vintners. About 44 surfing wine-makers competed, making this the biggest event ever.

Perhaps the main news of the event is that Anton Small, or Smallie for short, did not win anything for the first time in many moons. "It was a sad day for surfing, and for winemaking," said an anonymous source later that night inbetween shots of rum and coke while searching for the effervescent presence of the Villiera maestro.

Outside of auctions and wine fairs, this was a large gathering of people from within the industry. Ably lead by the skilled Miles Mossop of Tokara, a veritable army of winery personenl attended, from names such as Vilafonte, De Vallei, Sadie Family Wines, Newton Johnson, Klein Constantia, Nederburg, Paul Cluver, Distell, Villiera, Cape Point Vineyards, Steenberg, Dragonstone Wines, Grangehurst, Beaumont Wines, and Oak Valley to name a few.

The surf at Stilbaai was a little small, but the crew surfed a reef break on an exposed stretch of coast and scored glassy 3' lines all day.

The final of the Seniors was again won by Gunther Schultz, while Greg Warner took out the Veterans (should that not be the Ballie division?) and Pieter Walser winning the Juniors. Trizanne Barnard came up trumps in the ladies division, though the competition was not exactly fierce.

Generous sponsorship came from the headline sponsors Rip Curl & Reynolds Rocha Cork Supply and associate sponsors Ecostake, Consol, Roto Label, Thales, Tonnelerie Bordelaise, ZigZag, Sport Unlimited, Natural Energy, Taquanta, Cool & Dandy, Von Zipper, Element, Palmer's Wax - and many other individual sponsors.

Ladies:
Trizanne Barnard

Veterans:
1st – Greg Warner
2nd – Gary van Wyk
3rd – Steve Rogers
4th – Ross Lindsay

Seniors:
1st – Gunther Schultz
2nd – Jamii Hanlin
3rd – Johan Reyneke
4th – Bevan Johnson

Juniors:
1st – Pieter Walser
2nd – Niki De Villiers
3rd – Gordon Johnson
4th – Christo le Riche

Spot prizes:
Banana Hammock King – Jan Schlieman
Best Bodyboarder Impersonation – Greg Warner
Cover Up Barrel – Gary Van Wyk
Best Wave Veterans – Mickey Lindsay
Full Stop Rock Hopping – Henry Dowling
Wipe Out On Bricks – Johan Reyneke
Wipe Out Hitting Board – Francois Hanekom

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