KWV’s
Wine Emporium in Paarl has won the award as Regional Winner of Innovative Wine
Tourism
Experiences in the 2015 Great Wines Capitals Best of Wine Tourism. The awards
were presented on November 6th to wine estates from across the wine-growing regions
of the world at a ceremony in Mendoza, Argentina.
The
Great Wine Capitals Best of Wine Tourism Awards celebrate innovation and
excellence in wine tourism throughout
the ten greatest wine regions in the world. Cape Town represents South Africa,
and other members come from Germany, Spain, France, Portugal, the United
States, Argentina and Chile, Italy and New Zealand.
Commenting
on the win Maya Friederich, manager of the KWV Wine Emporium, said, “The team
is thrilled and excited to win this recognition. The award is the result of 12
years of research into new food & wine combinations to give visitors an
innovative and sometime exhilarating experience. I’d like to think we offer the
widest range of food pairing options in the Cape Winelands.”
Since
opening in 2001 the KWV Wine Emporium has hosted over 350,000 visitors who
enjoy multi-lingual guided tours of the KWV cellar complex, which, spread over
22 hectares, is one of the largest in the world. The KWV Wine Emporium offers a
broad portfolio of products, including sparkling
wines, natural wines, fortified wines, liqueurs and brandies.
The
complex includes the world renowned Cathedral Cellar, a breathtaking space
containing carved wooden vats with the history of wine in South Africa and the
Five Largest Wine Vats in the World under one roof.
André
Morgenthal of WOSA said the Best of Wine Tourism Awards had over the years
become an important incentive for wine producers to develop world-class
connoisseur experiences for visitors.
Cape
Town recently reaffirmed its global popularity as a travel destination, moving
from 11th to fourth position in last month’s Condé Nast
Traveler’s annual reader choice awards and the offerings of the Cape
Winelands were a significant contributor to public perceptions.
GREAT WINE
CAPITALS NETWORK
Cape Town has been a member of the network since
2003. The others are Bilbao-Rioja (Spain), Bordeaux (France), Florence
(Italy), Melbourne (Australia) , Mendoza (Argentina), Porto (Portugal) and San
Francisco-Napa Valley (US). The network promotes wine tourism and
provides a platform for the exchange of ideas. Its other areas of
operation are education, business and investment, and communication.
