The first ever Nairobi Wine Festival hosted by EatOut and Baraka Israel, kicked off with an exceptionally good tasting event this past weekend at the J's Pub & Restaurant in Westlands. When you think of a wine tasting, the most likely thing to pop up in your head is lots of wine, cheese and chocolate. Well you can bet your bottom dollar that this exquisite event gave you all that and more!
It being the first event of its kind to take place, credit must be given where it's due to the outstanding organisation. It was a ravishing setup. At the entrance, guests would verify their tickets and would then be issued coupons and a wine glass and then proceed to sample the endless range of wines at the participating stands. If you love a good deal, then you would be in awe of how perfectly the festival ensured that you get more bang for your buck.
The festival will continue until May 13th with two for one deals on glasses of wine and percentage discounts on wine bottles at select restaurants.
Here's the list of the fab or drab moments from the event.
Fab:
- The smooth-flowing and extraordinary organisation
One could easily tell that the entire event was well thought through and each and every possible bottleneck was considered. Given that it was a first-time event, I was very impressed with how well it was carried out.
It was easy to pinpoint individual suppliers with their massive banners and branded tees. What's more, the poles were innovatively labelled with signs (similar to road signs) for all brands directing the guests to their individual wine suppliers of preference.
The cheese area: It was not chaotic to get your sample of Brown's cheese as it was conveniently located at an identifiable corner
- Say it with chocolate
The vegan, low calorie chocolate gave similar brands a run for their money. Not to mention how generous they were by giving each guest four bars of different flavoured chocolate, yum!
- The wine
It's safe to say that all palates were catered for during this event. There was a range of Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Rosé, Merlot, sweet wines and lots of other delicious blends. It was delightful to discover the multiple wine suppliers in Kenya. The Rosé wines like Black Bird, Belaire and Baraka Israel's range were outstanding!
- The guests
It was a "good vibes only" kind of event where all the guests were interacting positively with each other.
- Brown's Cheese
If cheese is your forte, then you would've fell in love with the impressive array of cheese available for tasting at the event. The parmesan and cheddar cheese made for my favourites. Also, if you are a rookie with the wine-cheese pairing then you would be glad to know that the cheese platter given to each guest, clearly indicated the wine that goes with it.
- The music
What's wine without some good tunes and conversation? The playlist was a marvellous mix that somehow matched the different moods through the day and into the night.
Drab;
- Parking space
J's Fresh Bar and Kitchen usually has limited parking so if you were not one of the early birds then you were not so lucky.
