Wosa's fundi initiative on track to train 2,010 wine stewards for FIFA World Cup

The Wines of South Africa (WOSA) project to train 2,010 wine stewards around the country in time for next year's FIFA World Cup is not only well on track, says the organisation's CEO, Su Birch, but it has just been given a major boost, thanks to a R300,000 donation from the Winelands District Municipality.

Birch says a third of the candidates have already been trained in wine service a year ahead of the tournament. Drawn from the hospitality industry as well as the ranks of the unemployed, they have received training in Cape Town, the Cape Winelands, Johannesburg, Durban and Port Elizabeth. "Now with Deputy Mayor Clarence Johnson's generous support, after last year's donation of R250,000, we can train another 150 Winelands-based stewards to bring us close to the halfway mark. This most recent donation means we can continue to give special emphasis to training in the heartland of the wine industry, where visitor expectations for good wine service will, understandably, be at their highest."The training initiative is being funded mainly through the sale of specialist red wines labelled Fundi, the isiZulu word for learner. Developed for this purpose, the wines are labelled with a bright sunflower, as a symbol of hope. Each bottle carries a beaded neck tag, produced by informal roadside beaders.Birch believes sales of Fundi wines, now on offer from Japan to Finland, are definitely benefitting from the rising football fever. "The mounting international interest in South Africa and soccer brought on by FIFA's recent Confederations Cup, has been an important catalyst."The wines are selling in the UK through the prominent Virgin Wines network as well as in Sweden, Finland, in Ontario and Quebec, and should soon be available in Germany and New York State. In Japan, national television coverage of a training session, in which people from the hospitality industry and the unemployed were shown being taught how to serve wine to visitors to South Africa's restaurants, bars, nightclubs and game lodges, has captured the imagination of viewers and this is impacting on sales."She stresses that the intention is to transfer more than basic wine knowledge through the training project. "Trainees are being equipped to serve wine with greater competence and confidence but we hope some may develop a personal interest in wine. Should they include wine in their own drinking repertoires they could, in turn expose those within their individual networks to an appreciation of wine that may contribute towards building a wine culture amongst more South Africans."She says there are also several restaurants who have reported an increase in wine sales since their staff have undergone the training."Since the training of our staff, we have seen a marked increase in sales of our speciality, limited-edition, higher-priced, connoisseur vintage wines," says the owner of the Havanna Grill in Durban, Martin Lombaard."We are encouraged that even during the present recession people are prepared to make a purchase that gives them a top-quality wine and what amounts ultimately to an investment in South Africa's wine and tourism industries. Proficient wine service is good for wine, good for tourism and good for South Africa. The project is not only creating additional work opportunities for people already employed in hospitality but is bringing in unemployed young people who are acquiring valuable skills to help them become income-earning South Africans," Birch adds.Domestically, Fundi wines are stocked by national chain Makro, as well as by Pick 'n Pay in the Western Cape, and by specialist independent wine retailers such as Caroline's Fine Wines in the Cape Town area and La Cotte in Franschhoek. A full list of stockists is featured on the recently revamped website www.fundiwine.co.za, which also lists all candidates who have completed their wine service training. Birch says a range of companies has been supporting the project by donating their goods, such as glass bottles, corks and labeling, while other service providers reduced their costs for legal, accounting, banking, marketing and related fees.The training initiative is being run as WOSA Laduma (isiZulu for goal), a section 21 company, whose directors are Dr Paul Cluver, former chairperson of WOSA; Su Birch and Dalene Steyn, also of WOSA; Tim Rands MD of Vinimark; Joachim SA of Amorim Cork in South Africa; Michael Lutzeyer, owner of Grootbos Private Nature Reserve, and Mohammed Valli Moosa, former national Minister of Environment and Tourism Affairs.The industry was invited to submit wines for consideration in an open tender. Submissions were selected="true"="true"="true"="true"="true" in a blind tasting by members of the Cape Winemakers' Guild according to the same exacting standards applied when choosing wines for its annual auction. The wines of five producers were chosen. They are identified on the back label.