Cape Wine Academy turns 30
The Cape Wine Academy (CWA) celebrates its 30th birthday this year, reaching an important landmark of having trained over 90,000 students within its 30 years of wine education prowess.
The focus on career training for the wine and hospitality industry, and the expansion of lifestyle courses, has seen the CWA educate the public on more than just an appreciation of wine, but also on South African Brandy, Cocktails, Cigars and Wine and Food Pairing courses.
The CWA's MD, Marilyn Cooper, says “The Cape Wine Academy's vocational syllabuses can compare to worldwide standards, allowing students to gain employment anywhere in the world. We are very proud of our achievements over the last 30 years and are committed to growing knowledge and increasing responsible consumption of wine within South Africa.”
Starters and main courses
The academy hosts various career-oriented courses that focus on skills for the presentation, sale and service of wine. The Wine Service (pending Theta accreditation), Wine Retail, Front of House Management and Sommelier courses have been tailored to empower individuals looking for employment in various wine, food and service-related industries and enable them to perform their duties at a professional, world-class service level.
The greatest growth in students has occurred in tertiary education in such fields as Food & Nutrition, Hotel Management, Food & Beverage Service, Tourism and Chef Training. During 2008, over 3000 students, of whom 1900 were of colour, completed courses at 42 institutions nationally. The courses range from Wine Service, the South African Wine course, Brandy, Cigars, Certificate courses and Wines of the World.
The CWA is also responsible for the concept, launch and continued organising of the successful Soweto Wine Festival, which celebrates its 5th year in 2009.
The CWA, employing nine permanent staff, has full-time offices at Nietvoorbij in Stellenbosch and in Sandton. It has part-time centres in Pretoria, Durban, Bloemfontein and Harare. The institute employs 147 part-time lecturers, who are all CWA graduates, Cape Wine Masters, winemakers or viticulturists.
Looking back
The late Ronnie Melck of Stellenbosch Farmers' Winery and Dave Hughes were two of the earliest influences in general wine education in South Africa.
The SFW Wine Plan, driven by the then MD, Lothar Barth, Jurgen Bürmeister Marketing Director and Duimpie Bayly Production Manager, and with the support of the British Wine and Spirit Wine Education Trust, saw the founding of the CWA in September 1979.
Phyllis Hands was appointed the first principal of the academy. Obtaining information from SFW technical staff, she compiled the first Preliminary Wine Course, aimed at beginners, and presented it in February 1980.
Other courses followed and the CWA earned the approval of wine education bodies in Britain, Germany and the USA. The first Cape Wine Masters, Bennie Howard, Duimpie Bayly and the late Tony Mossop, qualified in 1983. There are now 70 Cape Wine Master graduates.
Since 2004, the CWA has belonged to a consortium of industry players, consisting of 25% CWA management, with the remaining 75% made up of empowerment partners, wine producers, distributors, retailers, restaurateurs and Cape Wine Masters. This diversity of stakeholders ensures that a wide range of interests in wine education in South Africa are represented by the vast spectrum of industry players.
Birthday giveaways
To celebrate 30 years in wine business, the CWA is giving away South African Wine courses valued at R950 per course through various press campaigns.
Visit www.wine.co.za for the latest competition, or see www.capewineacademy.co.za/ for more information.
