VIP LAUNCH OF KENYA WINE CLUB

I love South Africa and I love South African wine. They have the best vineyards in Africa. I went for an evening of wine indulgence hosted by Brown Biashara Limited and sponsored by Dasani Water, Browns Cheese and The Hilton. Brown Biashara Limited (BBL), a company registered in the Republic of Kenya, is a specialist importer and distributor of wines and neutral alcohol for the East and Central African markets.BBL supports the Elimu Foundation which was also part of the event.

This was the VIP wine and cheese tasting for hotel directors, embassy staff and supermarket heads and the formal unveiling of the Kenya Wine Club. The winetasting was at the Hilton in Nairobi on Wednesday, 18th June 2014. The air was electric and thick with love. Love for wine. You could tell that the attendees had a penchant for wine as people moved though the room scouting for great tastes. I was accompanied by one of my friends, Julianne from Afrikan Mbiu and we decided to learn all we could about wine. The Kenya Wine Club is designed to expose, and give East Africans access to, rare and exclusive wines which can only be acquired through the club. There are two membership options: Gold Club (9,500 kshs per month) and Platinum Club (14,800 kshs per month), both of which come with additional benefits. Originally, the gold club was 14, 400 kshs while the platinum was 18200 kshs. The prices went down after a special announcement by the organizers. They thought that this was a fair deal and I’m sure many people will sign up. Members of the Kenya Wine Club also have access to additional orders at special discounted rates. They have 37 South African vineyards and over 120 boutique and award winning wines under their umbrella. The wines are delivered from SA.

There were many guests including hotel executives, hotel representatives and people from different organizations around the world. In attendance were two sommeliers, Juan Cambil and Lisa Gorde .Some of the hotel luminaries present were from Panari, Sankara, Crowne Plaza and Ole Sereni among other award winning hotels.

There were about 12 large wine tables in the ballroom and two extra-large cheese tables. I don’t like cheese but I have to say, Browns cheese is very great. They have a wide array of cheese and crackers and I kept going back to the table for more. I was surprised that I am beginning to like cheese. 

 The open plan setting allowed for guests to move round the room discovering different wines and learning about the History and Science of the wine. There were 129 different bottles. I have never been to a tasting with this many brands. I loved moving from table to table trying the reds, whites, roses and sparklings. There was a projector with wine notes so that people could learn more as they moved. I even had the pleasure of meeting a wine maker, David John Bate, who had flown all the way from south Africa.  I will do a post on his wines and his two brands Leopard Frog and Frisky Zebra.

It was a great evening and we all enjoyed ourselves.

Joanne, Peter and I

Ms. Moureen Oloo from Crowne Plaza and I

Gentlemen having a light moment

Bernard  and Joanne from BBL

Peter Brown Owner BBL

You can find out more about the club, including the specifics of the Gold and Platinum Club memberships, here. There is a link to the membership application form (non-committal) on this page should you wish to sign-up.

Special thanks to Brown Biashara Limited, Dasani Water, Browns Cheese, Elimu Foundation and to the Hilton hotel.
Photos by The Wine and Food review and Bundi Anasi Photography