Just imagine a group of soccer supporters, a big screen, a couple of pints. Should make for a festive setting and I am sure a good catalyst for food orders…. And then they need to buy some “souvenirs” to take back to their hotel/B&B or home….

As you mention, our Goatshed restaurant has decided to serve a locally brewed premium beer during the world cup. Our regular menu does not include beers, nor for that matter, many other popular drinks including Coke. However I think that one cannot deny the link between beer and football supporters and given the unique circumstances I decided to bend my golden rule! From a purely business perspective I am possibly going to be losing out on revenue by offering a more affordable option, but with the collective effort required from local tourism to make the visitors feel welcome, I think that this is a small sacrifice. I also never wanted a big screen in our restaurant, but have again decided to bend on this during the tournament. Again, it is about being part of the event and having a different group of consumers exposed to your brands.

If the wine industry chooses to adopt an overly precious approach to the opportunities presented by the tournament, they may well miss out on the chance to ‘convert’ a few beer drinkers and have them seeking out our products when they return home, or when in a different social context.

I am more than confident that the presence of a few beers will not detract from the Fairview experience, nor from the opportunity that we have each day to communicate our brand to our visitors. If one does not have sufficient confidence in one’s product to sell it without needing to banish any vague competition, there are perhaps other areas where they should be focussing their attention.

I think that it is important to maintain some perspective on these sorts of issues. We are not going to have peanuts on our tasting pods and pork scratchings behind the coffee machine. And to be frank, in the middle of a Cape winter I am confident that our range of reds will provide more than sufficient attraction. “A pint of Pinotage for you sir?”

Cheers!
Charles Back.

Yes, Warwick does offer the facility to allow our guests to enjoy a cold beer if they ask for one. We also offer a world-class espresso if they crave a fix or a cold coke if they fancy something sweet. However, we do not have beer or coffee on our menu, we do not offer it expressly and do not have advertising for beer (or coffee) anywhere on our facility. Contrary to what your article implies, Warwick has not reduced itself to a beer-swilling drinking hole – on the contrary. I would be delighted to invite you (again) to visit Warwick to experience what must be some of the most educated wine staff in the winelands. We take our wine image and responsibilities more seriously than ever before. One could therefore be inclined to suggest that you should withdraw your article as it is baseless in terms of factual acuracy.

However, given the light-hearted nature of your article, I am sure that me publishing this comment is sufficient.

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