NELSPRUIT – Parents had the dubious privilege of tasting and judging 22 home-made marula wines crafted by Penryn College’s grade 12s on Tuesday evening. This project was part of their science curriculum and tested their knowledge of organic chemistry and, in particular, fermentation.
For 10 years a few groups of pupils had tried their hand at making marula wine and not have it turn out like beer or mampoer. Each group was required to make two bottles of wine. The first should be their base recipe and with the second they had to change one component. They also needed to submit a written report on the changes between the two and why they though each bottle was different. The learners each had to design a label for their bottles, think up a name for their wine and create a backstory for it.
After the wine had been completed, the pupils’ parents were invited for a wine testing and had to fill in scorecards for each bottle. At the event, each group set up a table, displayed their wine bottles and added other elements like candles, crackers, cheese and chocolate. Parents then went around tasting and commenting on the wine and listened to explanation of how they were made.
The best wine of the evening will be announced after all the scorecards have been tallied.
