Wilderness Botswana this week held a three-day beverage intelligence training for its barmen, waiters and front of house managers to equip them with skills required to become wine stewards.
The training, accredited under the Wilderness Training Institute and it was facilitated by experts from Wilderness’s wine suppliers from South Africa, drilling a total of 26 staff members.
In an interview, Wilderness Botswana Training Manager, Tshidi Ntsima said that the training was incepted last year, and that it is normally conducted during the low season to prepare their employees for the peak season.
Ntsima stated that through the training they intend to recap and enhance their staff’s knowledge with all the information they need to serve wines properly as they are in the process of grooming wines stewards.
According to Ntsima, the training also included the plus-one service training which is meant to equip the trainees with some special skills that would enable them to go extra mile in terms of wine service. Ntsima expressed that the training also covered wine tasting, aimed at assisting the trainees identify the various wines in camps according to their notes and flavours. She noted that this would ultimately help them with food and wine pairing for the benefit of the guests.
One of the trainees, Thabiso Mokgatlhe from OWS’s Little Vumbura Camp appreciated that the training has enhanced his skills in wine service, tasting and etiquette. Mokgatlhe noted that tourists visiting their camps do not know much about African wines, so the training has instilled the knowledge on those. He commended his employer for offering the training, indicating that it would enable him to go an extra mile in delivering his service.
“I have learnt a lot throughout this training, as we have acquired skills in serving wines, storing, cooling and chilling wines, and pairing wines with food,” he said.
Rebuileng Boemo, a bartender from Kings Pool Camp stated that as someone who is being groomed to become a wine steward, the course has enhanced her skills in wine service being-wine and food pairing, and maintaining its supply. Boemo noted that she would also pass the knowledge that she gained from the training to her colleagues back in camp.
