Welcome to our weekly Whispers from the Winelands, where we share news, stories and experiences. Make sure you open your inbox early every Sunday morning, we will be there. Not subscribed yet? Sign up here!
Latest news
Back to Business
Great news for our wine producers as alcohol sales are permitted under level 3 lockdown regulation. Alcohol sales will be allowed from 1 June 2020 but only on Monday to Thursday from 09h00 to 17h00.
Online deliveries have the same regulations. Restaurants and pubs will however remain closed.
One of SA’s biggest online wine stores has stopped taking new orders
Wine sellers, Getwine.co.za, has temporarily closed its online store to any new orders. This is, according to the site, due to a massive influx of orders during the lockdown period.
Management has decided to temporarily pause our website to allow ourselves time to work through the order backlog,” Getwine said in a statement.
Speaking to Business Insider South Africa, COO Johan Wegner says, while the site remained open to purchases throughout April, orders escalated dramatically since President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement on Sunday, 24 May that the country would move to Alert Level 3 on 1 June. Story from here
Cape Winelands officially joins prestigious Great Wine Capitals global network
Wesgro has announced that Cape Town and the Cape Winelands have officially joined the Great Wine Capitals (GWC) global network – a leading global club of major world city regions with internationally-renowned wine offerings.
Founded in 1999, the Great Wine Capitals global network is the only wine body encompassing the so-called ‘Old’ and ‘New Worlds’ of wine.
It exists to encourage of best practice around travel and tourism, education and wine business between the regions of Adelaide (South Australia), Bilbao (Rioja), Bordeaux, Lausanne, Mainz (Rheinhessen), Mendoza, Porto, San Francisco (Napa Valley), Valparaiso (Casablanca Valley), Verona and now Cape Town’s Winelands in the Western Cape, South Africa.
Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities, David Maynier says: “The inclusion of Cape Town and the Cape Winelands as members of the Great Wine Capitals global network reinforces the fact that this region is world-class and is internationally comparable with the best in wine tourism and business. We will continue to work hard to maintain these standards and look forward to showcasing them to the world when we can once again open our doors to visitors.”
The value of being a member of the GWC include:
- Being a member of the only global wine tourism organisation
- Getting ranked on the top ten wine regions in the world
- Building out our wine tourism offer by networking with other international wine tourism organisations and regions
- Sharing expertise and know-how with other countries and wine regions
- Participating in international programs such as the Best of Wine Tourism contest
Our province is one of the top wine producers in the world, and we welcome relationships that will assist us in increasing the global footprint of our quality wines. Furthermore, there are a breadth and depth of unique wine experiences to be enjoyed across the Western Cape once travel resumes. We look forward to featuring alongside the world’s leading wine regions as a must-visit destination,” commented Wesgro CEO, Tim Harris.
The GWC network also links universities and business schools in member regions to strengthen intelligence and data practices. Wesgro will work the broader set of wine industry stakeholders in the Cape – including Vinpro and WOSA – to leverage these, and other, benefits as a region.
Jacques Faurens, president of Great Wine Capital, announced from Bordeaux:
I’m more than happy to welcome back the beautiful City of Cape Town and the wine regions of the Western Cape in our Network. Their wine, history and wine tourism industry are world-class, and we will all benefit from the knowledge-sharing that will result from their membership.
From here
Our three amazing shows this week…
About The Winelands welcomes Johannes Richter, Journalist at Wineland Media, a division of VinPro which is the representative organisation for South African wine cellars and wine grape producers.
Wineland, turning 90 years old in 2021, have a wide subscriber base which includes 2 150 producers and wineries, 750 winemakers, 210 viticulturists, educational institutions, media, key directors and managers, advertising agencies/representatives, as well as suppliers to the industry. READ MORE HERE
The true spirit of the Cape winelands is what WINELAND is all about
About The Winelands welcomes Lisa Fontannaz from LISALOVESWINES, a company offering tours in the magnificent Cape Winelands, and also is a showcase for beautiful wines! Something super exciting is in the pipeline for South African winelovers…
Lisa Fontannaz offers customised tours to the Cape Winelands for the International tourist as well as local visitors to the Cape. The tours can be conducted in English, French, Italian, German, Spanish and Afrikaans. READ MORE HERE
LISA LOVES WINES – Where the personal touch matters
About The Winelands welcomes Kelly Zetler from The Thirsty Scarecrow, a craft beer pub and eatery on the Mooiberge Farm in Stellenbosch.
After being greeted by the friendliest of scarecrows, you can sit back and enjoy the great food, drinks and incredible view of the Strawberry fields and the Mooiberge Mountains. READ MORE HERE
The THIRSTY Scarecrow, one of the BIGGEST Craft Beer Houses in Africa
The About The Winelands shows for this coming week – Don’t miss out, subscribe here
Discovered by our Winelands Spy… The perfect “sit and sip” chair! Do you have a favourite chair?
Follow us on Visit The Winelands Instagram and Facebook group, the brand new About The Winelands Facebook and YouTube channel
- To get About The Winelands news and deals directly to your inbox, subscribe here
- Should you be interested in more exposure for your business, please contact us – Click here
To next week, enjoy and… Cheers!