Heavenly good wine

I had another quality time with my wife last night and I’ll love to share it with you. It was The Norwegian Association of Masters of Science in Business who invited us to wine tasting and the surroundings were perfect. Maybe I should explain that I am not a very religious type of person – rather a humanist – but I am a culturist and just love the idea of having this kind of arrangement in a church. In Oslo they have a Cultural stage without parallel and that is Jakob Cultural Church.

The feedback they have received since the opening in February 2000 has been formidable. Musicians and actors as well as audiences all express their pleasure at the exceptional acoustics and atmosphere in the hall. The sound system is praised as one of the best in the country, as is the grand piano. Just a few years ago, this was a rotten and holy room. Strong forces wanted the church torn down. Kirkelig Kulturverksted (KKV) has worked since 1986 to establish a scene for music, drama and pictorial art in Jakob’s Church. Today, the church appears as a unique stage with no parallel in Oslo. The only true cultural church in Norway!

The pictures from this evening are not of the best quality. They are taken in a church, from some distance and with low lighting with my Nokia mobile phone camera. But I hope they give you an idea of what a lovely atmosphere we enjoyed this evening!

The wine seminar is a tradition for this Association and I have participated for the last couple of years. This time it was featuring South African wine and the expert guiding us through the list of 4 wine examples was Yngve Lofthus Teigen from the wine importing company, Bibendum. He taught us how to judge the wine from the colour, the smell and the taste. The wine came from two different wineries: Stellenzicht and Alles Verloren. The more we tested, the better the wine tasted :-)

The host for the night is a representative of the Association and organizes this occasion in an excellent way every year. Here you see her together with the wine expert and our Oslo, local Association leader.

The top of the cream was a South African musical group who even got the Norwegian crowed moving. After consuming such nice wine and experiencing this music in a church with a fantastic acoustic, it was a thrill money can’t buy. The band is called Banjo Moseles & Veterans and was giving a once in a life time musical experience.

Update:
Here is a video taken with my mobile phone Nokia 6680. Please be aware of the long distance and low lighting!

You might like to explore more of these:
The wine importing company here, The Jakob Cultural church here, the winery of Stellenzicht here and Alles Verloren here.