First Wine Show a hit

The first ever First Wine Tasting Show held this past weekend at the GICC Marquee was a hit. The afternoon until evening event, boasted a lot of fanfare, glamour and pizzazz, and the “Gaboroneans” came out to play. Think beautiful people, great fashion, happy faces and an endless flow of wine. While the “usual” socialite suspects were in the building, there were also many new faces giving the event a cosmopolitan feel, which made for a refreshing outing in Gabs. 

Hosted by First National Bank in conjunction with Dwine Wines, this special wine show brought under one roof, the finest wines from mostly the Cape: Stellenbosch, Paarl and other surrounding areas. Wine bibbers, newbies, wanna-bes and plain drunks got to sample all varieties from sparkling bubblies, vintage ones to in red, whites and blends in pinotage, chardonnay, merlot and others. Each tasting included a short presentation on the win: the process of making it from the wine press to the cellar, history of the brand and at times, anecdotes about the wine growers and their legacy. There is no doubt that wine making is an interesting art with great business potential, and as I daydreamed about owning a vineyard, I sampled a few and fell in love with the whites and blends, which are new to my palate. This was all done in the backdrop of mingling and networking with different individual from various industries ranging from business, to entertainment and the corporate sector. 

The event was preceded by a cocktail dinner on Friday that attracted largely the corporate world. FNB representatives noted that “it was important to branch into lifestyle and engage their clients and other stakeholders through events that gave interactions mileage, forged new relationships and made them better understand their customers.” 

But it was the Saturday shebang that was truly fun as many threw their hair down and had the time of their life as they explored the different wines. By evening, tasting had turned to chest thumping drinking and revelers frequented the table that served their favourite brand for glass after a glass of wine. The DJs churned hit after hit of old school kwaito, pop, hip-hop, jazzy soul and Afro-pop.  

As night set in the wine was swirling and there was a lot of laughter, hugs and carefree dancing that included a popular routine step dance that brought many to the dance floor for a good ol’ fun boogy.