I have been to wine tastings where the host said more words about the soil than anyone in the room said to each other.
That is the opposite of what Morara is for, and it is the opposite of what we built Friday Night Taste & Test to do.
The reason this evening exists
Most South African wine tastings are designed to perform. There is a script, a particular vocabulary, and a quiet pressure to nod at the right moment. The wine becomes a vehicle for the host's expertise instead of a reason for the room to be in the same conversation.
I wanted a wine evening that worked the way our Sunday tables in eMbalenhle work — where the wine is good, the food is honest, and the conversation is what people drive home thinking about.
What actually happens on the night
Doors open at 18:00. People arrive in their own time — nobody is fashionably late, nobody is awkwardly early. The room is small by design: a guest count we can hold a single conversation across.
By 18:30 the first pour is on the table. We taste structured — a curated set of Morara wines from Stellenbosch, ordered to bring out what each one does that the others cannot.
Between pours, paired snacks come out. Real food, not props. The pairings are deliberate — a sweet Shiraz next to a richly spiced piece. A Chenin Blanc next to something sharp and citrusy. Nothing on the plate is there to take up space.
And in the middle of every pour, the conversation — not led by me lecturing, led by a few good questions that get the room comparing notes, disagreeing politely, and figuring out what their palate actually prefers. People walk out knowing one thing about themselves that they did not walk in knowing.
What R1,250 buys
- All the wine — a curated tasting flight of Morara wines from Stellenbosch
- The paired snacks — designed to bring the wine forward, not compete with it
- A printed tasting card you take home, with your own notes on it
- An evening with a small room of people who chose to be there — not a crowd, a circle
- And the chance to order any of the wines you fall in love with at the end of the night, without the awkward dance of pretending you weren't planning to
Who this is for
If you are someone who has spent years saying "I should learn more about wine" and then putting it off because every formal tasting feels intimidating — this is for you. Friday Night is built so that the first-time wine drinker and the experienced collector both leave having learned something.
It is also for couples, for friends marking a birthday, for anyone who wants an evening that is more than a restaurant and less than an event.
The 6+ private option
If you have your own group — a girls' night, a corporate team, a milestone birthday — you can book the full Friday Night as a private session. Same format, same pairings, your room. Six guests minimum.
WhatsApp me directly on 060 838 3334 to arrange a private Friday, including custom date if you need it.
How to book a single seat
The Friday Night Taste & Test page is on the storefront. R1,250 per seat. Complete checkout and we will be in touch within 24 hours with the exact date, address, and a short dietary preferences questionnaire so the pairings work for what you actually eat.
The honest part
I built Morara to give South Africans a wine they would actually buy a second bottle of. Friday Night Taste & Test exists because the second bottle is much more likely after a real conversation, in a small room, with people who chose to be there.
If that sounds like the kind of evening you have been quietly wanting, I would love to pour for you.
— Portia Modiehi Mokoena
Founder, Morara Winery
Secunda, Mpumalanga