An 1889 vintage Tawny (Port wine) from Seppeltsfield has been tasted on the summit of Kilimanjaro, in an effort to raise funds for international aid organisation, UNICEF.
29 year old Alister Robertson of Adelaide, South Australia, successfully completed the ascent of Kilimanjaro – Africa’s highest mountain – on 22nd October at approximately 6am, with a goal to raise $10,000 for the aid agency.
Mr Robertson paid tribute the first recorded ascent of the 5895m “Uhuru” Tanzanian peak in 1889, by sampling a bottle of a wine made in that year.
Hans Meyer (Germany), Ludwig Purtscheller (Austria) and Yoanas Kinyala Lauwo (Tanzania) are recognised as the first to successfully reach the summit, almost 126 years to the date of Robertson’s climb.
Noted as one of the highest wine tastings ever undertaken on land, the rare 1889 Seppeltsfield wine – valued at $1800 for just 100ml – was carefully carried to the summit by Mr Robertson in a converted camera case, complete with a small glass.
A YouTube clip of the Kilimanjaro tasting shows Mr Robertson describing the wine as being “like treacle” – the Tawny’s 20% alcohol volume preventing it from freezing during the mountain ascent.
“Tasting the 1889 Seppeltsfield Para Tawny on the summit was like looking back in time”, said Mr Robertson. “It was a time capsule back to when Mayer, Purtscheller and Lauwo’s footsteps were first left on the peak”, he added.
