Under the Influence Wine Experiences

We have been so excited to get face to face with people again, sharing beautiful wines and experiences in the most incredible locations in Africa. Here are some highlights from Zambia, Kenya, and the rest of our African tasting diary....

Kenya

It’s been a non-stop 9 months of hosting people again and we love it. As the country started to open up and all restrictions lifted, we had been seeking more ways to interact with wine lovers who had been cooped up at home. We found the perfect partner with the Lake House in Tigoni. As the official beverage partner, we’ve made it our mission these past few months to educate and entertain with some top tier wines. We hosted a lovely 7 event supper club series with rising Chef Mesha Tarun and recently completed a 10 event sushi series where we learnt so much about Sake and how it pairs excellently with Japanese food. We’ve also had the pleasure of hosting people in their homes and entertaining guests with blind tastings and games like do you know your wine.

We’ve also been working with the exquisite Tribal Gallery, home to some of the best art and artisanal furniture in Kenya. We hosted an exclusive wine pairing dinner with Louw Strydom from Ken Forrester Wines at Tribal Gallery. It was a great way for us to re-introduce our Under the Influence of a Winemaker event.

The Nairobi office also moved to a new warehouse location complete with its own tasting room called “Off the Vine” with views of the Nairobi National Park and occasional animal sightings. We hosted out first trade tasting where we invited all our clients to an exclusive tasting and masterclass with Ken Forrester Wines. It was encouraging to see so many people from across the wine industry – restauranteurs, hoteliers, sommeliers, retailers and fellow importers coming together to further learn around wine. Rarely do we get to go to Cape Town, so the goal is to bring a little bit of that Cape magic to Kenya.

We’re excited to be hosting Bosman wines as well this July, a brand dear to our heart and clients.

We look forward to hosting more events from August – we’ve got some exciting things lined up!

Zambia

In March we hosted an industry tasting at the iconic Elephant Café in Livingstone. As the season begins, and lodges open their doors once again to international clients, we invited valued partners to try some our favourite wines of the moment, and to enjoy a moment together as we reflect on the past two years and look forward to a new era. The resident herd welcomed friends, old and new, with a glass of L'Ormarins Brut Classique. On the banks of the mighty Zambezi, with high waters rushing past, our CEO Allister Kreft led an entertaining tasting of the Almenkerk Lace Dry Rose, followed by an enlightening comparison between Glenelly and Paul Cluver lightly-oaked chardonnays. Regaling guests with stories of his childhood on the family wine farm, we learnt about the soul behind Belfield Aristata, a firm favourite of the evening. A meeting of red blends – De Toren Delicate and the Essay Syrah – rounded off a beautiful and joyful event.

At the end of May, we were invited by Latitude 15ᵒ hotel in Lusaka to host a wine tasting at the Jazz & Bossa Nova concert with Cédric Caillaud Trio. As the bands played to a full house we really enjoyed introducing Lusaka society to a small selection of carefully selected vintages.

A huge thank you to Thys from Oldenburg for joining us in Zambia in June for a wonderful set of wine dinners at Lilayi Lodge and Ciela Resort

African travel journal

In addition to Zambia and Kenya, we hosted a stunning around the pool tasting at the Victoria Falls Hotel in Zimbabwe in April. We then welcomed Guests to a paired wine tasting in Maun, and then the We Are Africa Tribe in Cape Town for tailored wine and craft spirits experiences at the Cape Town stadium. In addition to that, we hosted some of the visitors to African Bush Camps at the Future Found Sanctuary for a 5 senses food and wine pairing. One of the highlights of our year so far this year was co-sponsoring the Malawi Wine Festival, with our Partner Wines and Wings. What an incredible show, well done to Mike and his team! We will be doing food and wine experiences for Guests at Hilton Hotels in Abuja and Lagos in July. We are constantly building our wine community on the continent and encourage you to join our next Under the Influence wine experience!