A WHIFF OF OS'S BLOOD

What's the recipe for a soft and pleasing, unique new wine range? Maybe unbelievable, but true: a typical Free State braai, Springbok legend Os du Randt and a little white hat …

That's how the refreshingly new wine range, "Osbloed", saw the light. And as with many stories, there's something quite spellbinding behind the story. Eion du Toit, vinophile and ethnographer (commercial anthroplogist), unveils a real raconteur's tale:

"For quite a while now, I've been thinking of developing a unique wine label for a soft and pleasing red wine. And then the idea hit me in a form I never expected!"

Du Toit was relaxing around the braai with friends in Bloemfontein. And suddenly, enter Os. The formidable du Randt, well known for having lots of fun, dons the hostess's little white hat. Soon he's the light of the party. And du Toit starts catching a whiff of Os's blood, only he doesn't know it yet.

The next day, on his way to the airport, it hit him like a classic Os tackle: Osbloed! Take a soft Cape blend, complement it with a label showing a white-hatted Os and you're in business. Right there, on the phone to Os. The gentle giant says sure, go ahead, man.

From then on the story developed at a blistering speed. Du Toit, who hails from Paarl, bounced the concept off one of his clients, the wine farmer Joachim Steyn. The result was TEN90 Wines, a distribution company created to develop the Osbloed concept. Next problem: winemaker? No problem. Steyn suggests Theunis van Zyl, winemaker and owner of Imbuko. Van Zyl sees the gap, and a week later the three wine fundis were blending and tasting, big time.

This then is the story behind the story. The Osbloed wine range promises to be something completely different. And, one is even tempted to say, it's always been in Os's blood anyway.