Mayor of the Cape Winelands Clarence Johnson, who has been chosen as president of the international network for 2009, together with Mayor Helen Zille, hosted the week-long meeting of the eight-city organisation. Its activities culminated in the glittering awards presentation function held at Vergelegen, which has twice won the Best Of Wine Tourism awards for South Africa, both for 2008 and 2007. The Best Of Wine Tourism initiative, which continues to attract a growing support base each year, is organised with the support of wine industry stakeholders in each of its member regions. The 2009 winners were chosen from each member city belonging to the network and have been positioned as the national representatives of their respective countries. In addition to Cape Town, the other members are Bilbao-Rioja (Spain), Bordeaux (France), Firenze / Florence (Italy), Mainz (Germany), Mendoza (Argentina), Porto (Portugal) and San Francisco-Napa (United States). The Spanish winner was Fundación Dinastía Vivanco of Briones, La Rioja, for its Museum of the Culture of Wine, an extensive wine documentation centre that has catalogued wines and their history and culture around the world from as far back as the 15th century. Château de Carbonneau, on the slopes of Pessac sur Dordogne in Bordeaux, France, won for its stylish five-bedroom chateau accommodation, built in the 19th century and surrounded by 15 hectares of vineyards. Villa Petriolo in the Tuscan hills was Italy's winner, chosen for its support of local artists, whose works are exhibited at the winery. In Germany, the association of wine-growers in the Rheinhessen won for their collective offerings of innovative wine tourism experiences, under the umbrella of the Interessengemeinschaft Urlaub Beim Rheinhessen Winzer. The winner in the Argentine was Bodega Salentein in Mendoza for its cultural centre Killka that combines murals, sculpture and art and includes an 80-seat restaurant. The famous winery is housed in an imposing stone building in the shape of a cross, and has been dubbed the "Cathedral of Wine". Portugal's Quinta Nova de Nossa Senhora do Carmo, an estate owned by cork producers Amorim, won for its Wine House. Dating back to 1764, the estate runs along the banks of the Douro River near the waterside villages of Ferrão and Pinhão. In the US, Domaine Chandon won for its Etoile restaurant, considered the foremost fine dining winery-based restaurant in California's Napa Valley. According to André Morgenthal, who is a member of the Cape Town chapter of the network and its local wine tourism leader, the competition to identify the top local tourist experience for 2009 was set aside, given the intensive efforts required for the planning and hosting of the network's present annual general meeting. However, the Cape was not left out of the gala event, since the occasion was used to announce the 2008 winner in the local restaurant category, Mont Rochelle Hotel & Mountain Vineyards of Franschhoek, which also won in the accommodation category. At last year's announcement of the South African category winners, the restaurant winner had not yet been decided, with judging only taking place this year. Morgenthal said Mont Rochelle had been chosen from 27 participants in the restaurant category, not only for the quality of its food but its excellent wine list, the flexibility of wine pairing options and the high level of training of wine waiters. He said: "Wine service has become a critical component of the local dining experience and with the influx of tourists expected to the Cape in 2010, we urge all licensed establishments to give particular attention to the training of their wine waiters, who will be serving as showcases for one of the country's most important exports." Great Wine Capitals Global Network