CHRISTMAS QUACKERS F

ORGET turkey and gammon; I’m doing duck this Christmas — and vegetarians can, too, if they opt to drink wines that celebrate these feathered friends of farmers. There are now several wine farms opting against pesticides to kill vineyard pests, instead “employing” teams of Pekin or runner ducks only too happy to spend their days waddling between the vines, munching on snails and other tasty treats.

I love the idea of Donald, Daisy, Huey, Dewey and Louie fluffing out their tail feathers to help farmers grow grapes in a more environmentally friendly way. As far as I can tell, there’s nothing cruel or ethically questionable about putting ducks to work when, for them, it isn’t work at all (and the alternative may be getting rolled up in pancakes with some hoisin sauce).

At Vergenoegd near Stellenbosch, visitors photograph the “duck parade” as some 800 natural pest controllers walk across the historic farm werf to and from their “jobs”. They have a range named in their honour, and I reckon traditional Christmas spices call for the smooth Vergenoegd Runner Duck Red 2013 with its plum, blackberry, cherry, cinnamon and nutmeg notes (R70 ex-cellar).

A white wine option for more summery Christmas fare is the zesty Running Duck Sauvignon Blanc 2015 from Stellar Winery in Namaqualand (under R50). It is packed with tropical fruit lifted by fresh green pepper, asparagus and lemongrass notes.

A surprisingly good foil for festive fare is the pink Camissa 2014 (R149) from Paarl winery Avondale, where ducks gather each day in a custom-made “duck-mobile” that transports them to the vineyards. Made from muscat de frontignan, mourvedre and grenache, it has “sweet” red berry and Turkish Delight flavours but finishes completely dry. — Joanne Gibson