The Soweto Wine and Brandy Festival is a Soweto-based initiative whose main objectives are to create, identify, enhance and manage investment opportunities in the field of tourism and hospitality in the township of Soweto.

The Cape Wine Academy assists in organising and promoting wine into Soweto through this festival.

� We are very excited by this venture, which gives the wine industry an opportunity of reaching people in a familiar venue in their own town. Although wine may not be part of the local heritage, we are hoping that wine consumption will grow from strength to strength once the wine festival becomes part of the annual calendar of events� says Marilyn Cooper, managing director of the Cape Wine Academy.

With the economy booming, retailers are determined that Soweto consumers are going to spend their money in the township. According to the City of Johannesburg�s finance and economic development unit Soweto has a total household income of about R10,5 billion of which R5,2 billion is available for consumer spending.

As a direct result of last year�s festival, the first exclusive wine shop, Morara wines has opened in Mofolo, Soweto.

The lure of Soweto has also attracted tourists to the township, with between 1700 � 2000 foreigners from all over the world visiting Soweto each day.

What was once a no-go area prior to the end of apartheid is now a hot destination.

With so many B &B;�s, pubs, restaurants and taverns catering to tourists, more and more wine is being consumed in these establishments.

Following on this first venture into Soweto, the organizers included brandy into the show held September 2006.

This should be beneficial to all concerned, as brandy already has a strong following within the community and visitors attending the show will be tempted to try both wine and brandy.