Carignan, Swartland, South Africa 

A lifted and aromatic thirst-quencher to open tonight. Testalonga was born in 2008 by Carla and Craig Hawkins in the Swartland region of South Africa. Baby Bandito is a project they started in 2015 in order to offer wines that are accessible and meant to be drunk young, while still delivering in quality! CUTE FACT! The names for the Baby Bandito wines are expressions that they would use when giving encouragement to a child & the child in all of us says, THANKS! Grown on decomposed granite soils, the carignan grapes for ‘Follow Your Dreams’ come from a single, organically farmed plot of bush vines at Bandit's Kloof planted in 2001. The grapes were left as whole bunches with their stems for added tactility. They were crushed, and fermented before going into old foudre (large wooden barrels) to go through a big growth-spurt. Mulberry bush in bloom, violets, raspberry leaf, wild cherry jam, tanning hide, underbrush, cola nut and other sweet spices, granular tannins, gummy cough drop & a stone roll. Pour alongside marinated skirt steak and cheesy baked potatoes.