When the rain messes with your plans and you are chilled to the bone, you might wish for summer, but rather reschedule your activity and thaw with a glass of Cape red, because Winter should be treasured for so many reasons – one of which is the chance of renewal and restoration.
Winter is all important for the quality of that glass of wine you are warming up with. Proper and consistent cold conditions ensure optimal dormancy so the plant can rest and avoid using the reserves it will need for new growth in Spring. Enough cold is also required to ensure even budding later in the season. Sufficient rain and snow fill up dams and ensure soil water levels are replenished.
The winelands have less visitors in Winter and many tourist establishments use this time to renovate and to give their staff a well-deserved holiday. Chefs enjoy the time to find inspiration outside the kitchen, waiting staff hopefully gets the opportunity to be waited on and for everyone involved with the slower pace of hospitality at this time of year, winter allows creativity and an appreciation of the small joys.
But these are just my superficial realisations as I drive through the Franschhoek Valley on my way to work. Despite all the apparent calm, winter does have its own energy. Cellars might be clean and tidy, but wines are developing in the barrels and somewhere someone faces the dark early hours of the morning to ensure fireplace are lit, the daily bread is baked and the kitchens are running to treat guests to comforting bowls. Have you been to Franschhoek in winter? The starkness of the oaks and vines without their foliage gives a brand-new perspective to the landscape and it is as if you appreciate the mountains and architecture even more. Rates are better, parking is easy and I do believe cold weather lends itself a little better to the enjoyment of all the culinary delights on offer.
Winter peaks on 21 June with the Winter solstice – the longest night and shortest day of the year in the Southern hemisphere. The sun reaches its lowest point in the sky and casts the longest shadows, but then the wonder of the cycle of nature continues and from the next day, the days are gradually getting longer and we are moving towards Spring and its promise of new life. I do think, however, that in embracing the light, we should not forget the value of the night that symbolises Winter. Just like nature, we need time to rest, recover and rejuvenate, but we also have the chance to learn and more than just a break, winter brings us the precious opportunity to reflect and evaluate so that our growth in the new season can be even better than in the past.
I hope that with the 2024 solstice, the symbolic winter for President Ramaphosa will be coming to an end too and that his new government will reflect on the many lessons and ensure longer days and a brighter future for our country. In his presidential inauguration address he said: “Now is the time to move forward. Together, we will do more and better. Now is the time to assemble all our capabilities and to direct all our energies to answer the call of the people of South Africa. We dare not linger, we dare not rest … ” (Do read the whole address)
As important as it is to have the winter’s rest and reflection, we do need a season of light and growth. We can trust nature to bring the bright Spring green in a few months, but as a country we can’t wait anymore. We’ve exhausted our resources and now we need a new approach and attitude that will lead to renewal and restoration. We need things to work better and people to care more. It’s not Ramaphoria, but perhaps there is hope.