I have been thinking about Wine Tourism this year and I even had a random Wine Tourism/ Travel category on my blog that remained empty for a long time. Probably, that was a foreshadow of what was to come. We have all had BIG, audacious goals and dreams and sometimes, we think that they are so hard to achieve so we move on to little manageable goals to avoid disappointment. I always know that when you set out to do something and you have 1% doubt you take the doubt every time. Focus on what you want and somehow it will come to pass. I knew that I wanted to have some travel pieces on my blog in a bid to create more exciting content and this opportunity wouldn’t have come at a better moment. My goal is to visit all wine destinations of the world and get more content for this blog. I was extremely humbled to be invited for Cape Wine 2015 & I thanked God immensely for giving me such an opportunity. My Visa application process was stress free (not what I expected) & I enjoyed flying with South African Airlines.
Cape Wine 2015 is an industry showcase of the International wine fraternity. This is an event that happens every 3 years and it puts South African wine on the map, as all stakeholders and members of the supply chain are on sight. Wines of South Africa (WOSA) also did a great job with this one. People thronged the Cape Town International Convention Centre. There were farmers, wine distributors, industry experts, wine merchants, sommeliers, enthusiasts, and media among other groups. I remember feeling so overwhelmed the first time I walked into the Convention Centre and saw hundreds of companies exhibiting. I did not know where to start. I decided to start with companies that had a presence in Kenya. Being a wine blogger, it made more sense for me to visit companies that I am more familiar with and then proceed to others. I wanted to get relevant content for my Kenyan audience. Some of the stands that I tasted wines were KWV, Distell, Vinimark, and DGB. There was so much wine to taste. To give you a rough estimate, think about hundreds of stands each with from 50-150 wines to taste. Every company made its stand unique and it was great to see the different designs and customizations that they came up with.
One of the concepts that stood out to me was how mindful the companies were of the environment. There has been close examination by this companies on the role that they play in the environment and this had heightened awareness. On my second day in Capetown, I had a great time visiting an organic producer company and this was one of the highlights of my trip. I will tell you about it in subsequent blogposts. I also attended different talks and seminars. One eye-opening seminar was chaired by Matome Mbatha (African marketing Manager Wines of south Africa) and the speakers were young South African protégés who are being mentored and who are making their mark into the exciting wine world. It inspired me to keep following my passion and to be open minded.