I was intrigued to be invited to the first Vermentino day to be held at Ayama - on Sat 25th April 2026. Looking through my history of events I had attended, I discovered that the first harvest of Vermentino by Ayama was in 2017. And now it is nearly 10 years later and 2 other wine producers are also producing Vermentino, viz Morgenster, founded by the charming Guilio Bertrand and now being run by his daughter Frederika and grand-daughter Vittoria, and Bacco, a relative newcomer to the world of wine but already making waves. Chiara Fabietti is the Italian winemaker at Ayama on the Paardeberg and now they produce 3 different Vermentinos, a Cap Classique, a wooded and an unwooded lighter wine. I must say I did like them all and especially the Cap Classique - fairly dry and a little bitter. The Bacco stand was so full all the time I did not get a chance to taste theirs, but the Morgenster, called the Vespri - is of course a new addition to the Italian Collection, and is very light and fresh. I was unable to attend the Master Class but it looked very interesting. Kudos to the 3 women wine producers, Chiara Fabietti (Ayama), Vittoria Bertrand (Morgenster) and Julia Blaine (Bacco) for conceiving of this day to celebrate all things Italian, although the Chevy 1953, although stunning, was not quite Italian. There was also the teeniest of Fiats which I completely overshadowed it. Of course there were plenty of Italian delights to enjoy; cheeses, sausages, ham, pancetta, lasagne, olives, art and music and of course wines! The event is likely to be held annually, and planned to be hosted by each Vermentino producer, so watch this space.