Under the influencers, booze free
● With the party season in full swing, it looks like ditching the hangover is this season’s hottest trend.
Last month, Italian winemaker Martini launched Dolce 0.0, an alcohol-free spumante.
And on Tuesday morning, iconic South African fruit drink Appletiser got in on the act, introducing two new drinks bound to make mocktails more refreshing.
The Appletiser Spritzer brunch was meant to take place on the lawns of pretty wedding location fave Shepstone Gardens, up in Joburg’s Mountain View area.
Sadly, though, the highveld weather put a damper on the mood, with the light drizzle meaning guests had to be escorted under umbrellas to a gazebo on the Herbert Baker-designed property.
The weather might also have played a role in the scarcity of A-list-worthy guests.
Instead, I found myself mostly in the company of the flock who tweet, blog and Instagram instead of experiencing life in the here and now.
Take Zuziwe Gcuku, who tells me she’s “like a mommy blogger, but not quite”.
“I have a child and a husband, so I create a blog around my family,” she says.
Viewing her Instagram feed, I learn that means countless images of an impeccably dressed Zuziwe in between shots of food, drinks or makeup, often with an artfully placed designer handbag — but nary a diaper — in sight.
Elsewhere I notice other “influencers” like bubbly Tshepi Vundla and Sarah Langa Mackay, the latter rivalling Victoria Beckham in the chic stakes, and whose bio says she is “Discovering the world, feeding the mind & finding the heart”.
A ray of sunshine comes in the form of our compere, Durban funnyman
Minenhle Gumede, who goes by the name
Beach Body, and who cheers us up with his banter.
He also thanks us for braving the weather, quipping, “If loyalty was a people, you guys would be it!”
Next, brand manager Lindiwe Mbhele proudly points out that the sparkling apple juice, which hails from the Western Cape’s Elgin Valley, is a local success story — it is now sold in 30 markets internationally. We are entertained by acoustic duo The Rocketeers and the soulful sounds of Langa Mavuso.
Foodwise, this was a picnic spread par excellence — Parma ham wrapped around rock melon, bite-sized portions of BBsmoked chicken, seared beef fillets with pickled cucumbers, and koeksister-style mozzarella pouches filled with butter cream.
And what of those two new flavours?
I wasn’t bowled over by the Apple & Exotic Lime, but I thought the Apple & Strawberry in a berry mocktail just might become my drink of choice this summer while lounging around the pool.