2010 wine steward training 'on track'
13 July 2009
A Wines of South Africa project to train 2 010 wine stewards around the country in time for the 2010 Fifa World Cup is well on track, and has just received an additional R300 000 donation from the Winelands District Municipality.
Wines of South Africa CEO Su Birch says a third of the candidates, drawn from the hospitality industry as well as the ranks of the unemployed, have received training in Cape Town, the Cape Winelands, Johannesburg, Durban and Port Elizabeth.
"Now with Deputy Mayor Clarence Johnson's generous support, after last year's donation of R250 000, we can train another 150 Winelands-based stewards to bring us close to the halfway mark," she said in a statement earlier this month.
"This most recent donation means we can continue to give special emphasis to training in the heartland of the wine industry, where visitor expectations for good wine service will, understandably, be at their highest."
Funded by Fundi
The training initiative is being funded mainly through the sale of specialist red wines labelled Fundi, the Zulu word for learner. Developed for this purpose, the wines are labelled with a bright sunflower, as a symbol of hope, and each bottle carries a beaded neck tag, produced by informal roadside beaders.
Birch believes sales of Fundi wines, now on offer from Japan to Finland, are definitely benefiting from the rising football fever, with mounting international interest in South Africa brought on by the recent Confederations Cup.
"The wines are selling in the UK through the prominent Virgin Wines network as well as in Sweden, Finland, in Ontario and Quebec, and should soon be available in Germany and New York State," she said.
"In Japan, national television coverage of a training session, in which people from the hospitality industry and the unemployed were shown being taught how to serve wine to visitors to South Africa's restaurants, bars, nightclubs and game lodges, have captured the imagination of viewers, and this is impacting on sales."
Knowledge transfer
Birch stresses that the intention is to transfer more than basic wine knowledge through the training project, pointing out that while trainees are being equipped to serve wine with greater competence and confidence, they hope some may develop a personal interest in wine.
"Should they include wine in their own drinking repertoires they could, in turn expose those within their individual networks to an appreciation of wine that may contribute towards building a wine culture amongst more South Africans," she said, adding that several restaurants had reported an increase in wine sales since their staff had undergone the training.
The owner of the Havanna Grill in Durban, Martin Lombaard, said: "Since the training of our staff, we have seen a marked increase in sales of our speciality, limited-edition, higher-priced, connoisseur vintage wines."
Birch is encouraged that despite the present recession, people are prepared to make a purchase that gives them a top-quality wine, and what amounts ultimately to an investment in South Africa's wine and tourism industries.
"Proficient wine services is good for wine, good for tourism and good for South Africa," she said.
Work opportunities
The project is not only creating additional work opportunities for people already employed in hospitality, but is bringing in unemployed young people who are acquiring valuable skills to help them become income-earning South Africans, Birch says.
Domestically, Fundi wines are stocked by national retail chain Makro, as well as by Pick n Pay in the Western Cape, and by specialist independent wine retailers such as Caroline's Fine Wines in the Cape Town area and La Cotte in Franschhoek.
A full list of stockists is featured on the recently revamped website www.fundiwine.co.za, which also lists all candidates who have completed their wine service training.
Birch adds that a range of companies have been supporting the project by donating their goods, such as glass bottles, corks and labeling, while other service providers have reduced their costs for legal, accounting, banking, marketing and related fees.
SAinfo reporter
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