Heidi Duminy of the Cape Wine Academy with wine steward participants.
Their next-level wine service and knowledge education, dubbed Grape to Glass, forms part of the major skills transfer initiative that underpins the 2023 Inter Hotel Challenge, now sponsored by HEINEKEN Beverages.
The 23 trainees, representing top hotels in the Western Cape, Gauteng, North West and KwaZulu-Natal are being prepared for this year’s challenge, now in its 11th year.
Their practical and theoretical syllabus has been designed by Jean-Vincent Ridon of the Sommeliers Academy, together with representatives from the Cape Wine Academy. Mentoring has included visits to various wineries and distilleries including Nederburg, Durbanville Hills, J.C. Le Roux (where Pongrácz bubbly is made), the James Sedgwick Distillery (home of South African whiskies including Three Ships and Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky), and Van Ryn’s Distillery.
The top-performing candidate will win an all-expenses-paid two-week HEINEKEN experience in Amsterdam (The Netherlands) as well as wine courses with the Sommeliers Academy, the South African Sommeliers’ Association (SASA) and the Cape Wine Academy.
Millicent Maroga, corporate affairs director for headline sponsor HEINEKEN Beverages has emphasised that the Inter Hotel Challenge aims to fast-track skills in hotel and restaurant services, from wine stewards to mixologists, chefs, bakers, baristas, concierges and more.
Winners will be announced on 28 November. Go to www.showcook.com for more information.
Click here to view a photo gallery of the day.
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