Zelda's nipping off to Napa

Zelda Petrus hears the news.

It has selected Zelda Petrus (43), a former cleaner at the vineyards who now has responsibility for the winery's front-of house cellar door sales, will soon be flying to California to learn more about wine sales and marketing in the famous Napa Valley. Her week-long trip will expose her to some of the region's top cellars, sales and marketing specialists.

Says Cape Winelands deputy mayor Clarence Johnson, who is also the immediate past president of the network, "To experience firsthand how things are done somewhere else can be a powerful way of learning. It can be enriching and inspiring and create the capacity to teach others on the ground."

A dream come true

He said Petrus had been chosen for her expertise as well as for her wonderful warmth and hospitality. "She is an eloquent example of the typical South African ability to transcend barriers. She began at Steenberg in 2001, initially as a cleaner in the tasting area. Keen and curious, she paid close attention and began to learn about wine and by 2004 was conducting tastings herself.

She was mentored by her colleagues at work but also taught herself and enrolled for a Cape Wine Academy course to learn more and here she is today, the cellar's front-of-house representative in the tasting room: for many the gateway to the cellar door experience."

"This really is a dream come true for me," says Petrus. "Now, I am hoping I can extend my skills still further and one day become a wine educator."