Stellenbosch Wines go on tour to France

L R: Annareth Bolton (CEO) and Ken Forrester (Chairman)

The Fair is an annual event held since 1921 and every year one country is hosted as a guest of honour. This year, for the first time, it has narrowed its focus by making the Western Cape the official guest of honour of the Fair. The Fair was selected to be part of the South Africa-France Cross-Cultural Seasons 2012-2013.

The 2013 Fair's highlight was the South African Cultural Pavilion, coordinated by South African Tourism in Paris, which promoted the country's gastronomy, art and crafts, culture and tourism infrastructure.

In addition, Vinidivio showcased 26 South African wine brands and wine regions such as the Stellenbosch American Express Wine Routes, South Africa's oldest and premier wine route.

South Africa's Minister of Tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, expressed his support of the event. "France remains an important source market for South Africa and is one of the top ten export markets for Cape wines. South Africa's wine tourism offering is unprecedented, complemented by the excellent wines being produced, award-winning cuisine and a genuine warm hospitality."

2013 also marks 11 years of close cooperation between Burgundy and the Western Cape Province and 13 years of an active wine-growing and wine-making cooperation with a skills exchange programme.

An international wine competition of the Western Cape was organised based on a blind tasting at the Fair. The panel, chaired by Eric Goettelmann, head sommelier at the Bernard Loiseau group, assigned the best South African wines at the Fair with silver, gold and diamond medals.

The Stellenbosch American Express Wine Routes is in the running for the Wine Enthusiast magazine's prestigious Wine Region of the Year title, reaffirming its standing as a world class wine destination. It hopes to succeed against tough competition, which includes Portugal's Douro Valley; Paso Robles in California; Spain's Rías Baixas and the Walla Walla Valley in the south-eastern region of Washington.

The Stellenbosch wine region also boasts some of the country's best restaurants, recently clinching no less than nine out of the 20 nominations in the running for the 2013 Eat Out DStv Food Network Top 10 restaurants. This is the best ever performance by the now firmly established 'Gourmet Capital of South Africa'.

For more information, go to www.wineroute.co.za.