Wine Tourism Career Development
The Wine Tourism industry relies on the merging of two very distinct sets of skills to grow and address the needs of the industry. Wine Tourism is about the delivery and experience of a variety of tourism related activities within or around wine producing regions or routes. The industry is a significant revenue generator for the South African economy and has the potential to continue to provide many new business and employment opportunities.
This career portal is aimed at providing practitioners with suggestions and tools to identify and develop the skills required to combine intricate tourism skills with the unique knowledge and skills base related to the wine industry.
The Wine Tourism Industry requires of people working in the industry to span a variety of occupations, often starting for instance as someone that is responsible for typical logistic support activities such as conducting stock takes and placing orders, to assisting with wine tasting during lunch and then working as waiter in the restaurant. The complexity of the skill sets required by people working in the industry is further influenced by the managerial and assistance levels of responsibility expected of employees. Learning and development needs are thus impacted and informed by the roles people are expected to perform and the level of responsibility for the respective roles.
The career pathway developed for the industry is role focus, and not job specific. Competencies and related learning depend on the array of roles people are expected to perform on a daily basis or aspire to do as part of their career development.
The industry has identified roles at a managerial and assistance level related to the following workplaces to focus on in order to capacitate and develop practitioners:
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Cellar Door Operations. Cellar doors are the designated locations for wine tastings and sales and are often aptly referred to as brand homes. They form the link between the winery by providing an authentic Direct-to-the-customer sales and engagement opportunity, which forms the corner stone of the wine tourism industry. Setting up, staffing, and managing cellar door operations require specific skills to ensure a memorable customer experience for visitors.
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Accommodation. Many of the cellars and wine farms offer accommodation to visitors. People involved in hospitality services need to be able to offer these services in combination with the unique wine industry context.
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Events. The wine farms, wineries and cellars provide picturesque and aesthetic backdrops to turn functions and events into great experiences for guests. Skilled staff forms the vital link between what a venue potentially has to offer and the experience of people attending the event.
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Food Preparation. Food and wine tourism fosters multi-sensorial experiences that not only enhance the value of local food products, but also of local food habits, culinary techniques, terroir features, related historical and cultural traits and local lifestyles. The skills that make all this come to life make food preparation a fine art that visitors can enjoy and appreciate.
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Restaurant Services. The management of restaurants require a variety of specialised skills, ranging from waiter services to managing the overall operations of the business. The wine tourism industry seeks to enhance such skills, whilst making sure the staff maintain their authentic identity to offer unique experiences to guests.
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Leisure Activities and Adventures. Wineries are in a position to offer guests an array of leisure activities in addition to the traditional value add associated with wine farms and cellars. These activities range from guided adventure events to activities people do on their own. Safety and support related skills form part of the ambit of skills required to offer these services to wine visitors.
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