August 21, 2007
By Ndaba Dlamini
WITH over 800 different wines and brandies to savour, a record compared to previous years, visitors to this year's Standard Bank Soweto Wine Festival will be spoiled for choice.
Now in its third year, the festival will take place at the University of Johannesburg's Soweto Campus on 7 and 8 September. It is a Soweto-based initiative aimed at identifying, creating, enhancing and managing investment opportunities in tourism and hospitality in the township.
It provides a platform for wine estates to interact with and showcase their wares to thousands of potential Soweto consumers, according to organisers.
"With local wine consumption dropping from 9,1 to 8,7 litres per person per year, and with 5 000 new wine consumers expected at the 2007 Soweto Wine Festival, it goes without saying that increasing the number of new wine drinkers through new domestic markets makes sense," says festival organiser and principal of the Cape Wine Academy, Marilyn Cooper.
"This falls in line with the empowerment growth objectives of the Standard Bank Soweto Wine Festival."
It is also meant to attract tourists and inject some economic verve into Johannesburg's biggest township. Tourists from the USA and Nigeria have booked for the festival already, and will be encouraged to stay in Soweto, so helping to stimulate its economy.
The Standard Bank Soweto Wine Festival takes place in September
As a growing business hub, the organisers have recognised Soweto as a crucial factor in differentiating the festival from others around the world, drawing on emotional connection, value, accessibility and awareness.
It has grown in leaps and bounds since its inception in 2005, when there were 86 wine producers and 1 500 visitors to Ubuntu Kraal in Orlando West. In 2006, the venue was moved to the university's Soweto Campus; the number of participating producers leapt to 103 and visitors doubled to 3 000. This year organisers expect about 125 producers.
Already Beaumont Wines, Bertrams VO, Cederberg, Grunberger, JC Le Roux, Nederberg and a host of other local estates have registered. Visitors will be able to taste a wide range of styles and cultivars - red and white, sweet and dry, and sparkling - as well as many brandies.
And for the first time, visitors will be able to buy wines, thanks to a trading licence acquired through Morrara Spirits and Wine Emporium, Soweto's exclusive wine retailer.
Standard Bank Soweto Wine Festival takes place at the University of Johannesburg's Soweto Campus on 7 and 8 September. Doors are open from 6.30pm until 10pm. Tickets to the festival are R40 each from selected Pick 'n Pay Hypermarkets, the Cape Wine Academy at 114 Grayston Drive, Sandton, or at the entrance.
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