Apparently the last in the series of Harry Potter movies was filmed in Leicester Square in London last night.

I should have gone to the director and offered my services as a death eater or some other equally spooky creature. They wouldn’t have needed to blacken my teeth: after a day spent tasting a raft of South African red wines at the Decanter World Wine Awards, they were already quite black enough!

Take today for instance: First up our panel faced off to 11 Pinotages from Paarl, before following that up with another five in a different price bracket from Stellenbosch and Paarl and then tackling a flight of nine Cabernet-based blends. After that there were another six Cabernet based blends from the Western Cape – all priced between five pounds and 10 pounds – and then 11 Shirazes.

The result was that by lunchtime our tongues and teeth were black from all the tannin… and the afternoon of tasting another 40-odd Sauvignons Blanc and Chardonnays didn’t reduce the effect. While furiously chewing sugarfree gum in the tube, I had to consciously remind myself not to make eye contact and smile at anyone. Britons are considered to have some of the worst teeth in the world, but after a protracted bout of tasting tannic red wines wine tasters of all nationalities could give them a serious run for their money.

However, with everyone on the Tube wrapped up in their own little world and doing everything possible to avoid making eye contact, it was easy to remember not to smile toothily at anyone…

One of the things I did after resigning from WINE magazine last year was to sign up for a Tour Guiding course. While still earning my crust as a freelance writer, I’m now also a fully accredited tour guide. It’s rewarding taking tourists into the winelands and seeing it afresh through their eyes.

In the past two weeks I’ve accompanied two different groups of tourists – one French and another Australian. Both were impressed – not just by the spectacular mountains and scenery, pretty cellars and orderly vineyards or even the wines. At all the places we visited, the tourists were knocked out at the warmth of the welcome and the genuine enthusiasm of those behind the counter. Firstly, there was always a welcoming smile and once the accents made themselves obvious, it always prompted the question; “Where are you folks from?” That then led to “Are you enjoying your stay? Where have you visited so far? What have you seen? Do you know much about South African wine?” And so it went on… It was fascinating being the proverbial fly on the wall, and I realised the big strides South Africa’s wine tourism offering has taken over the years. And a good thing too with the 2010 World Cup 400-odd days away.

Since SA joined the Great Wine Capitals network in 2001 there’s been a concerted effort to improve the touristic offering. Along with other wine cities in the world – San Francisco, Florence, Bordeaux, Porto, Mendoza, Mainz and Bilbao – Cape Town highlights the best architecture, winery gardens, cellar door experience and the like on an annual basis. Through recognition – local and international – wineries are placing more emphasis on training front of house staff. Just ask Waterford what the Best of Wine Tourism award meant to their entire team – or Mont Rochelle, Dornier or Vergelegen…
The cliché that you never get a second chance to make a first impression holds true. Front of house personnel determine the immediate impression that a visitor or tourist has – and it starts with a simple smile. But… then it has to be backed up by substance – good service, product and general knowledge and an ability to engage people.

Maybe my judgment is coloured by years of exposure to wine cellars and also, perhaps, by the fact that foreigners possibly get different treatment than locals. What do you think of South Africa’s winelands touristic offering?