The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Wine

  • Wine firm to host exhibition

    Wine firm to host exhibition

    Vines by Rosa, in conjunction with other partners, is set to host a six-day mixed event in Lagos and four days in Abuja. For two  weeks, Vines by Rosa will be hosting exclusive fine dining experiences for top clients and lovers of wines and masterclasses to improve the education and knowledge of food and hospitality professionals while giving wine enthusiasts the opportunity to discuss and delve into the wine culture in its purest form.

     The event will be attended by international diplomatic dignitaries, African entertainment industry stars, wine enthusiasts and hospitality business professionals. The African wine community will have the opportunity to enjoy meticulously selected wines and spirits which will introduce them to the incredible harmony between European wines and  eclectic array of Mediterranean and African-influenced dishes.

     Attendees will be treated to a great experience,combining the art of fine dining with an informal masterclass on selecting and savoring the finest liquor available on the market by the wine producer representatives directly. Guests will have the privilege to explore some of the finest wines from family-owned wineries in France and uncover the intricate layers of flavors present in Nigerian cuisine.

    Read Also: Nigeria’s finished wine versus England’s elusive cup

     The firm  aims to foster growth and education within the African market by emphasising the significance of appreciating quality spirits, in addition to connecting wine enthusiasts with reputable retail partners.

     Chinedu Rita Rosa,founder of Vines by Rosa, said: “We work closely with restaurants, wine distributors and retailers to enhance the overall consumption experience for their discerning customers. Our insightful resources serve as a catalyst for excellence within the African hospitality space.”

     “The event will be held annually in Nigeria and France with various interested partners in the future to continue the education and wine pairing culture.”

     Vines by Rosa is a premier destination for wine specialists, providing exceptional export consulting services, creation of new brands, professional wine selection with emphasis on the African taste and bridging the gap between winemakers and importers, facilitating long lasting partnerships between Africa and wine regions from all over the world.

  • A new wine for a new bottle

    Dear Reader,

    Happy Prosperous New Year! You are welcome back to Family Forum. 2016 is gone; a new year has just begun for you. You shall never have a better last year in Jesus’ name! The Word of God says: Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.  Behold! I will do a new thing (Isaiah 43:18-19).

    Forget about all your past failure, prayerlessness, weaknesses, spiritual laziness, etc. This New Year, you need to position yourself for new things and as you do so, the new things of God will not pass you by.

    To begin the New Year, this month, we shall be looking at a very vital topic: “A New Wine for A New Bottle”

    We shall start by looking at the parable of Jesus to His disciples. I know that you are very familiar with this passage of the scriptures: And He spake also a parable unto them; No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old.  And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved. No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better (Luke 5:36-39). I want you to take note of that word must. It is a task that must be done.

    So, each time Jesus comes around to teach a parable, what He is doing is to paint a picture to you and I, who are students in His school. When we understand those pictures, we will be able to retain them in our memory and apply them in our daily lives.

    This parable happens to be one of the pictures that Jesus painted for His disciples during His earthly ministry. I believe this picture is going to help you and I, a great deal, in our walk with God.  The question before you today is: How prepared are you for the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ? I don’t know how you are preparing, because even though Jesus Christ is coming soon, there are certain things that must be done before He does. You and I have a duty to get ourselves ready for His second coming. In the parable above, Jesus tells us that no man who wants to repair an old garment or clothe, goes to look for a piece from a new material and joins it, thinking or expecting that the old material is going to last him a long time before it tears again.

    Secondly, you will discover that no matter the level of your smartness in trying to mend the old clothes with the new piece, they don’t go together; there is always a difference. The thread will still show, no matter the colour you use. The shape of the new clothe will also be so evident when you put it on that you don’t need anybody to tell you that you have used a new piece of clothe to amend an old one. Have you ever seen a man that wore a cloth that is mended this way? It speaks for itself, doesn’t it?

    When the garment is old, the best thing you can do is to get a new one to replace it. Jesus goes on to say in Luke 5:37 that: In the same way, no one who wants to apply wisdom, puts a new wine inside an old bottle. In other words, just like you do not use a new piece of clothe to amend an old one and expect the old one to be strong as the new one, no wise man looks for new wine and puts it in an old bottle. The Bible tells us that if a man does that, he is endangering the life of the bottle, as well as the content.

    What Does The New Wine Stand For?

    “The new wine” in this context, does not necessarily refer to the wine that man drinks. No! The new wine in this parable is referring to the new move of God for His people. It stands for the new plan and purpose of God for a generation. It also implies the vessels that will be used as containers and channels by God to carry out His plans and purposes for this end-time.

    Time and again, we have been told and have heard people say, “Oh! Jesus is coming back.” But something very important Jesus made clear in this parable is that: for anyone to be a partaker, a channel or a vessel that God is going to use this end-time in His new move for this generation, such individual must be ready to change from an old bottle to new one.

    Now, look at verse 38 of that Scripture; it says: but new wine must be put into new bottles. We, as members of the body of Christ, have enjoyed the old wine of God. We have enjoyed several moves of God and several phases of God’s plans and purposes for His people. God is at the verge of beginning a new move all together, and He will lay hands on the people He is going to use as channels or vessels for this new move. However, they have a duty of making themselves new bottles to be able to contain the new move of God for our days. The Bible says that when you make a mistake of putting the new wine into old bottles, you destroy the bottles. In other words, you destroy the vessels and also waste the wine therein.

    If men, by their wisdom, wouldn’t want a natural and earthly wine to be wasted or the earthly bottle to burst, God isn’t going to act that way. God isn’t going to make a mistake of pouring the new wine into old bottles!

    In case you have never given your life to Jesus, that means you are not born again and there is no way you can be a part of God’s new move for this end-time. If you are ready to be born again, please say this prayer: Dear Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me of my sins and cleanse me with Your Blood. Deliver me from sin and satan to serve the living God. I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Make me a child of God today. Thank You for accepting me into Your Kingdom. If you prayed this simple prayer, you are now a child of God. He loves you and will never leave you. Read your Bible daily, obey God’s Word and seek Christian fellowship (John 14:21).

    Congratulations! You are now born again! All-round rest and peace are guaranteed you, in Jesus’ Name. Call or write, and share your testimonies with me through contact@faithoyedepo.org, pstfaithoyedepo@gmail.com; OR 07026385437 and 08141320204.

    For more insight, these books authored by me are available at the Dominion Bookstores in all Living Faith Churches and other leading Christian bookstores: Marriage Covenant, Making Marriage Work, Building A Successful Home and Success in Marriage (Co-Authored).

  • Sheraton Abuja Hotel hosts wine festival

    TO celebrate the annual International Wine Festival in Nigeria, Sheraton Abuja Hotel, alongside the organizers of the Nigerian International Wine Festival, organized a three day event at the hotel.

    The three-day event started  with a celebration of Sheraton Paired  the Sheraton brand’s new hotel lobby bar experience that comprises of artisanal small plates and elevated bar snacks, served alongside premium wines and suggested beverages.

    Guests were reintroduced to the concept which stretches the boundaries of traditional pairing principles by blending ingredients together in new and unexpected ways.

    The food and beverage experience was inspired with music and culture at the lobby bar of the hotel attended by members of the diplomatic community, top VIPs and CEOs of multinational organizations.

    The second evening unveiled the French Night with French wines with (and)Sheraton Paired activations #pairedperfectly. There was a proper wine tasting session featuring an array of exotic wines  served alongside delectable canapes, small cuts and other Sheraton favorites.

    There was also good music to create a more relaxed ambience and external customers were able to have an elevated experience with a cocktail at the hotel’s (Pool Terrace) pool bar and restaurant.

    Members of the expatriate community in Abuja alongside other VIP guests had an exciting night with dance performances from TDA Dance Group and Legend, performing on the key board.

    The highlight of the three-day event occurred with over 2000 people who arrived at the Sheraton Abuja Sports Field to watch the four-time Grammy nominated singer “Femi Kuti” perform live on stage under the Chocolatecity Label.

    Other performers such as Niniola and Jesse Jagz added panache to the night.  Members of the audience were enthralled as the crowds followed the truly Nigerian performances from the Femi Kuti dancers, while chanting to popular choruses from the music maestro such as “Wonder” alongside others.

    The General Manager of Sheraton Abuja Hotel, Nouman Irshad, said: “We have collaborated with the right partners to inspire our guests and audiences by creating interesting and enriching events which bring people together to recharge and unwind in our relaxing spaces”.

  • New wine in old wineskins

    Even the club of die-hards sworn to give the Buhari administration the benefit of the doubt in perpetuity must by now be exasperated at its apparent inability to articulate a clear, coherent direction for the economy exactly four months after taking charge. For while nearly everyone swears that the Buhari body language is working magic with proofs cited as the fight against corruption, the on-going process of streamlining and revamping the machineries/finances of government, the much improved electricity and fuel supply situation, and of course the renewed onslaught against the insurgents in the North-east, there is the temptation to luxuriate in the illusion that the future is somehow here and that we can afford to dither on important decisions that ought be made even NOW.

    I came to this conclusion after reading a report credited to new Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Ibe Kachikwu as published by The Cable – an online publication last week. The meat of the report is that the refineries are currently working at 30 percent capacity as against the minimum 60 percent required to generate profit. That for me was a revelation. I have actually seen some people swear that the refineries are already working 100 percent – thanks to the Buhari effect!

    The other part – just as interesting is what he said about the refineries: “Personally, I will have chosen to sell the refineries; but President Buhari has instructed that they should be fixed. After they are fixed, if they still operate below 60 percent, we will know what to do”!

    By the way, the ultimatum given by President Muhammadu Buhari and re-echoed by Kachikwu to fix the refineries expires in December! Now, if his information is any correct, only the Port Harcourt refinery stands a reasonable chance of meeting the deadline! Which goes to show that there some things the chant of “change” cannot simply decree into being!

    To be sure, President Muhammadu Buhari cannot be faulted on the ground of good intentions. As one-time petroleum minister, the President should ordinarily be in good stead to proffer the way forward for the refineries. More than that, only a cold-hearted leader can fail to be moved by the racket of fuel importation and the irreparable damage it has done to the economy. Today, the economy continues to the bled by the twin rackets of huge import bills and its associated subsidy. But then, the greater problem is what the President has prescribed as solution – the magic placebo called the Buhari effect – the magic which cures all ailments!

    Part of the current illusions is that there are no costs to pay for the choices we have made. Presently, if fuel importers are not complaining, it is not because they are not being owed huge subsidy bills. The NNPC is being asked to carry the burden of fuel importation apparently because it has a huge pool it can draw upon. Soon enough, the current whispers will transform to loud murmuring across the board; by then everyone will realise that all is not exactly well.

    Secondly, that somehow the same individuals under whose watch the refineries went down would somehow supply the magic. Or that the nation’s work habits have transformed overnight. Pure illusions.

    If you ask me – while I’ll not be so uncharitable as to describe the President as out of date – he seems to have stuck to the old manual written in the sixties and seventies – which sees the state as the ultimate provider of the public good! The real problem as I can see it that the President thinks that he can put his new wine in the old wineskins while expecting nothing to give.

    To return to the refineries – the world has simply moved. Today, even at their optimal levels, the four refineries combined cannot deliver anything near the 40 million litres said to be our daily consumption of petrol. The choice we face is therefore clear: to aggressively pursue the licensing of more refineries to boost capacity by getting more private sector players on board.

    If the truth must be told – the four refineries are no hoppers! They are in terrible states owing to years of neglect of their Turn Around Maintenance. To the extent that every cycle of TAM has since turned out to be avenues to siphon scarce public revenue, Nigeria will do better to let them go. President Obasanjo knew enough to sell two of them to the Bluestar consortium for a record $700 million. Now, it is doubtful that anyone would offer anything near that tidy sum despite the billions sunk into them since. In the circumstance, what the nation can hope for is the prospect of enhanced performance in the event of a future sale. That should be the primary concern of the Buhari administration.

    Here is what I think the President should do – and urgently: Let the refineries go. Good thing that the GMD-NNPC thinks they should be let go. Next, take out whatever elements remain in the pricing template and let Nigerians bear the full cost of the fuel at the pump. This is what the current wisdom dictates.

    ‘To the extent that every cycle of TAM has since turned out to be avenues to siphon scarce public revenue, Nigeria will do better to let them go. President Obasanjo knew enough to sell two of them to the Bluestar consortium for a record $700 million. Now, it is doubtful that anyone would offer anything near that tidy sum despite the billions sunk into them since’

  • Between a wine connoisseur and an Ex-President

    Wole Soyinka, a Nobel Laureate in Literature is the wine connoisseur. Olusegun Obasanjo (Obj), a military ruler during the dark ages of Nigeria’s contemporary history, is the ex-president. Obj prefers not to see Soyinka as a severally garlanded man with a host of literally prizes from all over the world. He snatches Soyinka from the company of the printed world and places him in the midst of forest hunters on an expedition to trap guinea fowls for dinner washed down with fine wine.

    Let us go to the carping old general to capture the picture. “For Wole,” Obj says “no one can be good nor can anything be spot-on politically except that which emanates from him or is ordained by him. His friend and loved ones will always be right and correct no matter what they do or fail to do. He is surely a better wine connoisseur and a more successful aparo (guinea fowl) hunter than a political critic…If I want somebody to give me the best wine, one of the people I will go to is Wole Soyinka and I know he has a taste for good wine…”

    Now why would a man, himself aiming to be an eminent author, accost an acclaimed writer and rather than seek to sip mastery of language from the master, all he begs for is inebriating wine? Why?

    But the so-called wine man is in no mood to brew the stuff for his host. He isn’t inclined either to part with his favourite guinea fowl delicacy. Soyinka has offered a concoction to prove he is a true son of the literary soil. Instead of a feast of wine and bird meat, there is a language war.

    Hear Soyinka: “I had fully attuned myself to the fact that our Owu retiree soldier… is an infliction that those of us who share the same era and nation space must learn to endure. However, it does appear that there is no end to this individual’s capacity for infantile mischief, and for needless, mind-boggling provocations, such as his recent ‘literary’ intrusion on my peace… I despise that species of humanity whose stock-in-trade is to concoct lies simply to score a point, win an argument, puff up his or her own ego, denigrate or attempt to destroy a fellow being… A special pit of universal opprobrium is surely reserved for (them).”

    Now this amounts to “spoonfuls of boiling oil, ladled out” by a lion over a prey he does not wish to devour. But it remains to be seen whether the victim would not have preferred the predator’s traditional assault of instant sentence of death to this slow living death. Are Nigerians learning anything new from this battle of two of their gods? We are getting as much as we got from a previous war between another military ruler Ibrahim Babangida (IBB) and this same Obj in August 2011. On the eve of his 70th birthday, the general from Minna, Niger State said Obj had wasted the petrodollars that came his way when he was elected President for eight years. IBB claimed the “history of Chief Obasanjo is an open sore that is irredeemably contrived in several incongruities and contradictions.” He said Obj is a plunderer.

    But Obasanjo is above board. He does not brook rebuke and so he fired back and described IBB as a ‘fool’ at 70. He said: “Babangida should be pitied and shown sympathy rather than anger or condemnation because of the old saying that a fool at 40 is a fool forever and I would say a regret at 70 is a regret too late…If Babangida had decided on becoming a septuagenarian, that he would be a fool, I think one should probably do what the Bible says in Proverbs chapter 26 verse 4. It says don’t answer a fool because you may also become like a fool. When you go to the same Proverbs chapter 26 verse 5, it says answer a fool so that he will not think he is a wise man.”  This is a caustic banter unbecoming of ‘gods’, those we have dignified with mentorship and leadership positions, those we place in the hallowed grounds of near-worship. They can’t help behaving like those personalities on Mount Olympus in Greek mythology. These characters hoisted on exalted hills in the skies were supposed to be pontifical, infallible, and perfect. But they exhibited the foibles of lesser creatures, mortals over whom they lorded. These gods were vindictive, deceptive, lustful, overly ambitious, rebellious, jealous, rapacious, alcoholic, tyrannical and unforgiving. They were classed as powerful and all-conquering. But it was power bereft of control and morality. A Zeus who was the chief would slug it out with mortals for the love of a woman. Atlas would be condemned to the punishment of carrying the world on his shoulders for being on the side of other gods. Hercules was assigned back-breaking labours as the penalty for challenging Zeus.

    When therefore President Muhammadu Buhari insists he will pick untainted Nigerian men and women to form his long-awaited cabinet, I am tempted to ask if he will do so from among those who have called each other ‘wine connoisseur’ , ‘guinea fowl hunter’, ‘misfit’, ‘career liar’, ‘open sore’, and ‘a fool’ among other aliases. Or is he going to look for ‘angels’ mentored and recommended by ‘a fool’ who has a person with an ‘open sore’ as his friend who in turn has behind him a career of lies sustained by a culture of hunting guinea fowl capped with long nights in warm company with wine.

    Our age has one way or the other fallen at the feet of these illustrious men, ‘a wine connoisseur’, ‘a fool’, ‘a career liar’, ‘a misfit’, etc. They may have unwittingly renounced their majestic gait and abdicated their throne as a result of the indiscretion of these unguarded remarks in the ardour of fitful seizures.

    Still, between the so-indexed ‘misfit’ of a ‘wine connoisseur’ and an ex-president now downgraded as a ‘career liar’, there lie tomes of the chronicles of their stately deeds to guide Buhari choose men and women of steely stuff who would not be struck and dwarfed by paroxysmic outbursts.

    • Ojewale is a writer and journalist.          
  • Beer’s loss wine’s gain

    Beer’s loss wine’s gain

    With the reported drop in beer sales and consumption, the wine and spirit market is booming, raking in over $350 million, writes ADEDEJI ADEMIGBUJI.

    By October 23, Nigeria will host 30 wine and spirit exhibitors from over 10 countries, including Spain, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, United States (US), Argentina, Chile, Italy and France, at an international fair.

    For Nigeria, the event is expected to bring investors willing to operate in the liquor market,  valued at over N280 billion.

    Besides coming for the exhibition, the global players are expected to tap directly into the Nigerian market against the usual back door importation which is believed to be aiding importers and producers of fake foreign wines, and  killing the local liquor market.

    The efforts by global wine and spirit producers to play in the fast growing sector are coming at a time the beer industry is struggling with sales. Financial Derivatives Company (FDC), a diversified financial institution, said the nation’s beer market has seen a decline in the super-premium and mainstream brands.

    “From our analysis, we conclude that the industry is attractive. We note that though the barriers to entry are high, the bargaining power of suppliers is moderate, while the bargaining power of buyers is low. There is little threat of substitutes for the products produced in the industry and favourable complements for the products,” FDC said.

    This appears to be a gain to the wine and spirit market in Nigeria. According to Euromonitor International, a global market intelligence organisation, Nigeria spends an average of N41.41 billion on champagne yearly and was rated the second fastest growing market in the world for champagne. It noted that between 2006 and 2011, it achieved a compound annual growth of 22 per cent.

    Accordingly, the total champagne consumption reached 752,879 bottles (75cl) in 2011, higher than consumption in Russia and Mexico, thereby placing Nigeria among the top 20 champagne markets in the world.

    Further investigation showed that the country, in 2010, consumed about 593,000 bottles, the highest in Africa. The closest to this figure was South Africa, another country that has been identified as an emerging market for luxury goods, besides Nigeria. South Africa’s champagne consumption was 384,000 bottles in 2010.

    The markets are also expected to be among the countries to post the strongest gains in total champagne volume. France topped the list followed by the United Kingdom. Brazil, China, United States  and Australia, are in toe.

    According to the Senior alcoholic drinks analyst at Euromonitor International, Spiros Malandrakis, during a keynote presentation at the 2012 Champagne Assembly held in London, “ what did come as a surprise was Nigeria’s second place in these global rankings.”

    Apart from Champaign, the country is becoming the target of Europe’s wine and spirit makers. According to the Euromonitor International data, wine consumption in Nigeria grew from 18.8 million litres in 2006 to 44.3 million litres in 2011. This is expected to increase by 80.4 per cent, that is, 79.9 million litres by 2016.

    As it plans to host about 30 global wine and spirit makers later in the year, the Managing Director, Spronks Creations Limited, the  organiser International Wine & Spirit Fair (NIWSF) of the wine and spirit fair in Nigeria, Aderonke Sobodu, said:  “The growth and acceptance of wine and spirit into our social lifestyle has made the country one of the fast-emerging markets in the world, which in turn offers great opportunity for tourism, trade and commerce.

    This also created the need to expose indigenous wine and spirit producers to the global trade environment, with Nigeria ranking as a fast growing market. Currently consumption figure of wine and spirit in the country is valued at over $350 million based on export figures.

    She said: “The team of the Nigeria International Wine and Spirit Fair, in partnership with the International Oenologists, is exploring the possibility of growing and producing the first commercial wine range in West Africa. Obudu Plateau, found on the Oshie Ridge of the Sankwala Mountain range has been identified as a potential location to explore wine production based on the landscape and altitude of this region. We are seeking the help of the Cross River State Government to achieve this feat.”

    With the growth of the industry, the activities of illegal importers have come under hammer of the National Union of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employees (NUFBTE).  With an estimated N700 million loss annually to influx of illegal wine, spirits and alcoholic beverages, distillers and blenders are afraid of another dangerous signal that saw textile industries income to Gross Domestic Product out of the nation’s trade balance sheet.

    The group believed that the illegal influx of alcoholic beverages, wines and spirits into the country is an ominous threat to the market.

    Currently, Nigeria’s wine imports are increasing by 16 per cent annually. A new report from New Zealand’s Rabobank, said Nigeria has the potential to become a lucrative export market for wine, but some New Zealand winemakers are yet to be convinced.

    The report, titled, ‘A new wine frontier,’ said that while China and South Korea are probably the most attractive emerging wine markets, Mexico, Poland, Brazil and Nigeria are “hidden gems” that could offer rich rewards, over the medium to long-term, to ambitious exporters. Early exposure to these nascent markets would give firms hard-won experience and a head-start on their competition, said Rabobank Food and Agribusiness Analyst, Stephen Rannekleiv.

    Meanwhile, Industry analysts say the burgeoning Nigerian market has been the attraction for foreign labels which are flocking into the country. Reports showed that Hennessy is trying its best to exploit the market, as it has increased its global revenues from $24.23 billion in 2008 to $37.14 billion in 2012, while net profit increased from $3.27 billion to $4.52 billion.

    The Marketing Manager, Moet Hennessy, Nigeria,  Lere Awokoya, said Nigeria is one of the fastest-growing markets for whiskey and champagne, as the Hennessy brand has experienced a 12 per cent growth in the Nigerian market year-on-year since 2011.

    “The figure is about right,” saidAwokoya, while responding to Hennessy’s champagne market share. “We estimated about a 12 per cent yearly increase in growth since 2011. This just means to us that the relationship between Nigeria and our brands is becoming more meaningful. We are very aware of that and consequently, we are doing what we can to maintain this growing relationship and make it a lasting one,” Awokoya,  said.

     

  • Wine/Spirit expo coming

    The organisers of Wine/Spirits and Beauty Expo plan to deliver over 100,000 markets to operators on October 10 during the Mega 3 Expo.

    The expo, which is being organised by Exhibition Gurus will hold at the Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS), Lagos. It is designed to be a meeting point for operators in wine, spirit, beauty, fashion and related industries.

    Practioners will exhibit their goods, services and give free samples from exhibition booths to over a 100,000 customers.

    Chief Executive Officer, Exhibition Guru, Akin Eso said: “There will be a lot of wine-tasting, unveiling of new products and lots of giveaways at the expo this year, and to cap it all, an intending couple will win a N15 million worth of wedding goods.”

    Exhibition Guru has been at the forefront of industry-related exhibitions in the country. Its first major exhibition was the hugely popular, Wed Expo in Lagos which attracted over 50,000 people. There have been other exhibitions subsequently in Lagos and Abuja.

    Eso said: “Exhibition is the way to go for effective marketing; at the exhibition, you get to see the market, the people in their thousands and get immediate feedback. What we are doing is experiential marketing, sales and launch put together. There is nowhere you get ready-made market like exhibitions.”

    He promised that the exhibition  would be the biggest in Africa. We are going to have over 100,000 ready to buy customers in attendance from all over world, and the kind of exhibitors coming this year are also all over the world.

    Wine exhibitors that have already signed up on the expo’s website www.exhibitionguru.com.ng,  Pernod Ricard said, one of the biggest wine and spirit firms in the world – makers of Chivas, Absolut and more, Disaronno, Grand Oak, Aspire Wines, Campari world best Liquors and Mixers, Gran Cantina makers of Foss Marai wines, McNamara Wines, Skinnycocktail International Ltd, Vision Essence makers of Xenius Champagne Brut, Morcone Williams Brand, Voulez Wine Distribution, Linzi Liquors, Wine Crockery International, Mrpete World Class Sommerlier, Blends and Cocktail Mixers, Golden Rum Spirit and Liquors, Champagne Vollereaux, Organic Wines International, Sparta Sparkling Wines, Canto Wines are among those that would be showcasing their products and services at the wine expo.

  • Ila Orangun: Palm wine tapper’s haven

    Ila Orangun: Palm wine tapper’s haven

    Ila Orangun in Osun State is popular for two things: it is said to have been founded by the direct son of the progenitor of the Yoruba race, Oduduwa and it is the largest palm wine brewing ‘industry’ in South West. Taiwo Abiodun was there 

    AT the entrance to the town are a mass of palm wine trees of various sizes and shapes lining the road left and right. Some of these trees are at different stages and sizes while some are still fresh while a few had dried off. As the breeze pushes them sideways the palm-fronds slap one another. One could see some of these tall palm trees with gourds attached at the top. While one could also see the palm wine tappers afar off climbing the trees with special traditional ropes going up to ‘offload’ the contents of the gourds. “You have not seen anything yet, go into the forest and you will marvel seeing how we are blessed with these palm wine trees , we are the biggest suppliers of this product in the South West. Our wine is different from the chemicals you people take  in Lagos. Our drink is fresh, undiluted and medicinal. It cures malaria fever, and we mix it with other herbs and roots and use it for one thing or the other,”  Popoola  Daoti,  an  Arabic teacher who lived in the town stated.

    The hot afternoon sun had died down. It was in the evening time and everywhere had become cool. Sighted in many corners and drinking joints were motorcycles and different cars from the exotic to the rickety. Then the sight of gourds and plastic kegs with palm wine foaming from the mouths were conspicuously displayed. Again one could see the old and the young ones serving themselves with plastic cups and traditional calabash (aha). Here, the literate and educated ones mingled  and exchanged banters  with  local men and women irrespective  of their  status and religions as they gathered together discussing local  politics while drinking  their favourite  palm wine. Griots too were not left out as they  were telling tales of their adventures  but when highly  charged they  started gesticulating,  punching  the air with their fists  expressing their views to  drive  home their points. In another scene  some young men  were  seen dancing to Orlando Owoh’s music  blaring from the  four giant hifi speakers  placed in strategic positions. Palm wine is what unites them.

     

    Festival in the air

    As they drank, one could hear some of them screaming and laughing hysterically. Some students who are  ‘Kegites’ had  a field day as they beat their leather drums and sang in praise of the ‘spiritual water’ (palm wine) as they were in ecstatic  state  and filled with  what they call the ‘holy’ water. While some had  dozed off after having a bout of it. Don’t blame them, it is all fun as they  had before them  their local brewed  palm wine which  the Yoruba  tagged  ‘Akiwarapa  abito fun fun lenu’ epileptic ‘victim’ foaming from  the mouth).Welcome to Ila Orangun the home of palmwine.

    The ancient town of Ila Orangun is popular not because of the political gladiators they have or because of the politics they play. It is popular and well known as the only  town in the South  West that has the highest number of palm trees and  also trade in the product.

    There is no household in Ila Orangun that does partake in the palm wine business and it is said that the best palm wine is from Ila Orangun. In Yoruba people say Ila lo lemu, meaning the Ila people are the owners of palm wine.

     

    From generation to generations

    According to one of respectable sons of the town, Prince Olusegun Idowu Oladosun, “Our town is known as the only town generating 80per cent of her earnings from the proceeds of palm wine. There is hardly any household that do not trade in palm wine-  from natives to  non natives. In my family my forefathers were palm wine tappers. From my great grandmother down to my mother were all palm wine sellers. We brew palm wine, it is our own industry and source of income. It has become part and parcel of our tradition to offer visitors during ceremonies.”

    Halimat Olawole (70) a palm wine trader said, “I am a native of Ila Orangun . I inherited  the business  of from  my parents. Since I came into this world this is the only business my family has been doing. This is a palm wine town. I don’t sell Oguro. I sell real palm wine and ours is the best, no mixture. My forefathers were palm wine tappers. When my late father  travelled and settled down in other places like Ile -Ife  he was  doing the same business until his death,” she continued “his name was Gbadamosi,  my father had no other job than  tapping palm wine. And his wives had no other job than selling the products to sustain the large family,” she said, beating her chest.

    Prince  Oladosun  said the town has no other medicine than palm wine as palm wine is their medicine  (Ila ko looogun, emu logun Ila), he said ” the only job we have here is palm wine tapping from time immemorial and  also  farming.”

    For Suleiman Oluwarotimi -(from Aseda family), he said “Apart from being our business here, it is also highly medicinal. Palm wine cures all ailments, if any sick baby is given this palm wine  she must be healed  but if  the baby did  not  recover then  we believe the baby  is a bastard.”

    For  a retired civil servant  and non native Aremu Joseph  (from Ekiti) , he said he  worked and retired  as a civil servant in  Ila Orangun, he too  added his voice  “This is how we drink it here, I am from Ekiti State. I am happy to have been caught here  drinking it, palm wine is good  for your health  but one should not abuse it and drink  it to stupor,” he cautioned .

    Another non-indigene, Bamidele Adeagbo said “I am from Idanre in Ondo State. My father was a palm wine tapper, my father once told me a story that the keg Ila people used to store their palm wine is called their hernia and this used to annoy them. I once fought some people over it but we later knew it was just a joke, but an expensive one.”

    Silifatu Azeez who was seen assisting her mother serving palm wine said, “I am assisting my mother to sell palm wine and I  am understudying it  in order to continue the business when she is old and gone. The business runs in the family.” While the mother interjected in support of her daughter and said “Any job you are doing and didn’t pass it on to your children is questionable.”

    Chief Yusuf Olaboye described the Ila Orangun as a rich cultural place where songs are rendered for the palm wine with his melodious voice he sang in praise of the palm wine:

    Ope wewe lemu re ndun, Mo ba’la roko. Ila a muludun, mo ba Ila roko oo    (The wine from the little palm tree tastes fine, I will go to the farm with Ila people. Ila makes the town to be lively, I will go to the farm with the Ila people )

    Ila ko nise meji emu nise won (Ila has no other business but palm wine tapping)

    The crown of the monarch is respected as it is believed it is original and not controversial, since he ( Ila Orangun) is a direct son and crowned Oduduwa son, no wonder they sing

    Ila lade wa, nwon o w’ade ka (literally meaning it is Ila where the crown is, they don’t need to search for the crown elsewhere)

    Yusuf Olaboye added ” Iyan lounje  Ila ati emu ‘ (Pounded yam and palm wine is Ila’s favourite)

    However, there is a taboo on palm wine tapping according to Alfa Daoti , “it is a taboo for a palm wine tapper  to take a pint of the wine before climbing the palm wine tree, whoever does this could go blind!, ” but this was punctured by an elderly man who said ” it is not good for a palm wine  tapper to get drunk before climbing the palm tree. You  see we have seen a lot of people in the past who got drunk and when they got up there jumped down from the top not knowing again the high level they were, while some were wounded some too died, since then we  made it a taboo for anyone to drink before climbing the palm tree.”

    An indigene regrets that “before now many were into palm wine business but it is not as high as it was before and that does not mean we are lacking behind in this palm wine business.”

  • Wine tasting at Akwaaba 2014

    NIGERIA is accepted globally as one of the biggest wine markets in the world consuming more than many African countries put together. The emerging lifestyle merges with the growing middle class and it’s taste for global products.

    Tourism is one of the biggest beneficiaries of this new class of Nigerians. It is this travelling class of Nigerians that  consume the wine and Champagne.

    To further organize the products and align them with their patrons, the organizers of Akwaaba African Travel Market will this year dedicate its Hospitality Day, October 28, to wine tasting. The wine tasting day is a new addition and will offer both sellers and buyers the opportunity to engage with the travelling public.

    The  Akwaaba: African Travel Market is  the only annual international travel fair in West Africa, drawing attendance from over 15,000 delegates from over 20 countries worldwide and the largest platform to meet with travelling public, airlines, hotels, restaurants, tour operators, travel agents, state tourism boards, foreign trade and tourism sectors and similar industry suppliers across Africa.

    The wine tasting event which will hold on  Oct 28 from 10am-6pm at the Convention Centre of the Eko Hotels and Suite, Victoria-Island, Lagos will provide wine distributors and manufacturers from all over the world who are looking to increase their business in Nigeria and across Africa, build and increase brand loyalty and patronage, the opportunity to showcase their products to the travel community/ wine lovers in Nigeria and Africa.

    The wine tasting event will feature a diverse selection of top wines and spirits from all over the world.

    Mrs.Rita Ikechi Uko, the organizer of Akwaaba African Travel Market said: “Nigeria is one of the fastest growing economies in the world and the biggest Champagne market in Africa.

    “We are always looking for ways to create and add value to our clients as well as improve visitors’ experience at our events. So, the wine tasting event was born out of the need to create a proper platform for bringing together wine buyers and sellers from all over the world, an audience Akwaaba has consistently attracted over the years.

    “ With ‘big taste experience’, we hope to not only provide a platform for wine dealers and producers to sample their wines, but also provide an atmosphere where guests can sip, savour, mix and mingle, while enjoying the best of what Africa has to offer, and it is a project we intend to continue and build in the  coming years”.

    Attendees to the fair would have the opportunity to sample different top wines and spirits from the Exhibiting Wine Dealers and Manufacturers Association from all over the world.

    The Akwaaba: African Market, which holds in October every year, will feature Exhibition, Aviation and Hospitality Day, African Business Travel Association (ABTA) workshop and various country/state day celebrations where the culture, food and destinations will be showcased.

    This year’s event will hold from October 26 to 28.

  • IDL launches wine

    IDL launches wine

    Intercontinental Distillers Limited (IDL) has introduced another brand of wine, Chapeau, a South African wine, into the market.

    Its Managing Director, Patrick Anegbe, said he was delighted that the company had been able to come up with a natural wine that is different from others in the market. He added that a lot of wines in the market are made of flavour, alcohol, sugar and additives.

    Brand Manager, Chapeau, Chioma Alonge, emphasised the goodness in grape, saying that is the main ingredient of Chapeau.

    She said: “Chapeau is made from real grapes which are good for your heart as they lower blood pressure”. She added “a glass of Chapeau is a glass of goodness which is good for your heart.”

    Chapeau, which literally means “I doff my hat” in French comes in three variants – Merlot, Rose and Cabernet Sauvignon.

    The event, which took place at La Mango in Ikeja, Lagos had Nollywood faces. They include Segun Arinze, Fred Amata, Keppy Ekpeyong Bassey, Florence Onuama, Benita Nzeribe, and comedian Clint de Drunk.