This past Friday evening, Avondale held its La Luna Once-in-a-Blue-Moon dinner event at our farm in Paarl.
Thus named after the rare fortuity of two full moons occurring within one month, the evening promised to be something spectacular- and we had one or two surprises in store for our guests. The first inkling that we had something up our sleeves was when guests were asked to supply their birth details- date, time and place- when confirming their seats. The reason for this was later discovered when Johnathan bid everyone a warm welcome and introduced a very special guest to the audience; Dianne Garven- a professional Astrologer.
Di spoke briefly about the significance and the role the moon plays in all of our lives. This was in perfect harmony with Avondale’s Biodynamic methodology which is largely governed by the lunar cycles. Once Di had finished her speech, the guests were then led down a red carpet to the hidden barrel cellar, beautifully lit by twinkling stars adorning the walls in honour of the occasion.
The table looked magnificent with glowing centrepieces reminiscent of a celestial garden, and glittering lanterns that resembled the moon itself. Each guest has a personalised Luna Chart waiting for them at their seats created by Di, based on the birth details they had provided with their RSVP’s. Each chart came complete with an astrological diagram detailing the zodiac alignment at the guest’s time of birth, as well as a summary of that particular individual’s characteristics based on their Sun, Moon and Rising signs.
Johnathan began by introducing the wines, with esteemed Chef Reuben Riffel appearing after the first three courses to explain the inspiration behind each course and its extraordinary pairing.
The evening’s menu was as follows:
According to our resident Astrologer, we were experiencing a Pisces Moon that evening. This meant that guests were more inclined to relax and “let their hair down”- and judging by the late hour at which the event finished up- it appears that there was definitely some merit to this theory!
Avondale would like to thank Chef Reuben and Di Garven for their respective contributions, without which such a magnificent evening would not have been possible. We would also like to thank all of our guests for joining us in celebrating this magical event – and we hope that you enjoyed it as much as we did!
‘Till next time.