Good Food & Wine Show review

There is definitely an optimal modus operandi (latin for modus operandi) for attending expos and festivals such as this one. There are many schools of thought, but the man with experience will always know which way is the best way. For instance, some people say you shouldn’t go to a show on the last day as the exhibitors are tired and gatvol. But, the last day is the best for getting cheap or even free stuff. The exhibitors don’t want to have to pack everything up and transport it so they are happy to get rid of it.

The GF&WS was well attended this year, I went on the last day (Sunday) and it was packed plus people who went on other days told me it was full. That bodes well for next year’s show because it means the exhibitors will be optimistic about the potential. The R70 entrance fee does not include a wine glass for tasting, that costs an additional R15. I’m not sure if that is good or bad. On the one hand, people who don’t want to taste wine don’t have to buy a glass and their ticket price is not subsidising those who do want a glass. But, that means that the price has gone up to R85 for those that want to taste wine as well. You don’t want to just pop in at that price, it needs to be a good long visit.

The wine section runs along the one side and there are a lot of estates. Many of them I had never heard of and after tasting their wine, hope to never see them again. But others were very nice. There was supposed to be some wine demonstrations and presentations but I didn’t see any (admittedly I wasn’t looking for them).

There was a big organic section this year which is great. Nice to see organic produce becoming so popular. Amazing what consumers can achieve. Pick ‘n Pay had a stand showing off their quite substantial range of organic products. There is an organic exhibition happening in October if you are into that sort of thing. Watch out for the details in your Relax with Dax newsletter.

There were quite a few demonstrations happening all the time, not only in the special kitchen amphitheatres but also at some of the stands. I watched none of them. I was too busy with other things like asking the chick at the Farmer Brown stand if the chickens are so tasty because they are kept in small cages and injected with steroids. She didn’t know.

I also spent a lot of time at the numerous bar/lounges. The chicks behind the Hunters bar were particularly, um, friendly. Only while I was drinking Hunters though, so I couldn’t stay there too long. The winner was the blonde at the beer stand, I can’t remember what kind of beer it was even though I stood there for ages.

It was a very social and festive vibe. I bumped into lots of people I knew and had fun cruising around with them, tasting foods, trying wines and generally harrassing the exhibitors. All in all, a good day out.