Winemaking Bedik tribe style in remote Senegal

As part of the myths and archetypal dream research for the We All Have Five Fingers Project, I visited the tiny Bedik tribe in the remote southeast corner of Senegal.

No roads, no electricity, no running water, but they made wine—palm wine.

The the head winemaker carefully works his magic with the juice squeezed from palm dates at the Bedik (Bedick) tribe village of Andyel (Andjel), Senegal, Africa.

Just like grape wine, palm wine can only be made when the dates are fully ripe to get the most sugar. And fortune smiled on me. The dates were nice and juicy when I visited.

Kids climb the tall palms to pick the ripe dates in the morning. The Bedik live on the only mountains in Senegal. You can see that the rest of the country is pancake flat.  Bedik (Bedick) tribe village of Andyel (Andjel), Senegal, Africa.

All of the men gather to watch the wine making process in the shade of the huge tree at the edge of the village. Bedik (Bedick) tribe, Andyel (Andjel) village, Senegal, Africa.

But unlike alcoholic drink most backwardly slow western winemakers create, the Bedik wine magician goes from harvest to drinking all in one day. (What could the French learn about product turn around from the remote Bedik?)

With temperatures well above 100 F,  fermentation doesn't take long. Bedik (Bedick) tribe, Andyel (Andjel) village, Senegal, Africa.

By late afternoon the day of harvest, the winemaker is happy to announce that the wine is ready. Bedik (Bedick) tribe, Andyel (Andjel) village, Senegal, Africa.

For the people who market wine, let me repeat, the wine is harvested, created and drunk all in one day. And what a day it was.

This is wine tasting Bedik style. Here I share a huge gourd of palm wine with the village chief. Hey, the stuff was  pretty good after a couple of big swigs. Bedik tribe, Andyel (Andjel) village, Senegal, Africa.

 
Be forewarned, Wine Spectator has not rated this wine yet. I helped drink it all.