As the world continues to suffer the effects of an unexpected pandemic, businesses continue to push through to remain relevant.
South Africa’s wine industry is one of the many that has taken a hit in this era, having to experience a ban on exportation of wine, hence causing it a huge financial loss, not to talk of the reputational damage.
But as part of efforts to still get South Africa’s wine industry to grow in important markets like Ghana, Wines of South Africa, one of the lead exporters of all South African wine, has brought together stakeholders in the industry to wine and dine while socializing with each other.
Held on Friday, February 19, 2021, the Wines of South Africa Wine Tasting and Food Pairing Evening event, which took place at the Mövenpick Hotel, brought together top personalities in various sectors in Ghana and South Africa.
Amidst a beautiful setting and cool music, guests were treated to some of South Africa’s finest wines paired with the most appropriate mouth-watering dishes.
Some of the dishes that the guests were treated to included ‘jerked chicken with stir-fry noodles paired with Lutzville Chardonnay 2019’, ‘baked fish in ratatouille with jollof rice paired with Dukitt Sauvignon Blanc 2019 Villierra Traditional Brut’, and ‘goat stew steamed vegetables, yam balls paired with Boland Chardonnay 2020’.
Speaking on the sidelines of the event, Bill Bedzrah, Country Director for Wines of South Africa in Ghana, explained the reason for the event even amidst COVID-19.
“We’re trying to do consumer-centred events like this in order to keep the momentum up until the borders of the whole world are opened. Then we hope the imports and exports business will boom.”
The event was also focused on promoting the relationship between Ghana and South Africa to boost tourism for both countries.
Ghana’s Ambassador of Tourism, Arts & Culture to South Africa, Matthew Mensah, also in an interaction with Citi Business News explained that, “We are busy promoting Ghana outside for people to know that you can come to Ghana.”
“The only thing that has been stopping people to come now is because of the economy which has been hit. So you wouldn’t have the same amount of money to travel as before, but now you see an interest in people starting to come to Ghana from South Africa. This is how we are pushing to be able to move forward when we fully reopen in December. We hope to get back in full momentum soon,” he added.
The event was graced by media personalities such as Citi FM/TV’s AJ Sarpong, Kafui Dey, Kwesi Kyei Darkwa, wine experts such as Kodjo Adovor and wine suppliers in Ghana and South Africa.
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