The Michelangelo International Wine & Spirits Awards is proud to announce a pioneering and exciting agreement with the Bidvest Premier Lounge Group, which promises to add tangible value to the competition’s annual awards’ medals and trophies.
From 1 May Bidvest Premier Lounge will begin the process of procuring and phasing in Michelangelo award-winning wines and spirits into eleven Bidvest Premier Lounges around the country. These include departure lounges at both the domestic and international terminals at OR Tambo International and Lanseria International in Gauteng, Cape Town International, King Shaka International in Durban, Port Elizabeth International, East London Airport, George Airport and Bram Fischer Airport in Bloemfontein.
An annual audience of 1 500 000
More than 1,5 million travellers annually use the premium leisure and business facilities in these lounges – a top LSM group which will in future have access to a selection of award-winning wines and spirits from the Michelangelo International Wine & Spirits Awards.
This agreement between Bidvest Premier Lounge and Michelangelo will not only give Bidvest Premier Lounge visitors access to a comprehensive range of premium products judged to be South Africa’s finest in the country’s leading wine and spirits competition – it also offers awarded entrants into the Michelangelo Awards an opportunity to showcase their best products to a premium market through the Bidvest Premier Lounges.
Private Tastings
In addition to the offering of a Michelangelo Awards wine and spirits selection in the Bidvest Premier Lounges, wine makers, producers and distilleries will also be invited to host tastings of their products inside the lounges to gain further exposure to the wine-loving public.
Gavin Bell, CEO of Bidvest Premier Lounge, says the Michelangelo brand is a welcome addition to the premium offering visitors to Bidvest Premier Lounges have come to expect.
“In its 23 year history, the Michelangelo International Wine & Spirits Awards has become recognised as South Africa’s largest and most respected wine and spirits competition,” he says. “The added experience of wine and spirits tastings places Bidvest Premier Lounge on another level in terms of airport-lounge offerings, in addition to guests being able to order their favourite wine or spirits for home-delivery during these tastings in the lounges. We are very honoured to have Michelangelo on board, allowing us to give our customers an enhanced lounge experience.”
According to Lorraine Immelman, CEO and founder of the Michelangelo International Wine & Spirits Awards, the agreement with Bidvest Premier Lounge will allow wine and spirits producers entering Michelangelo to tap into a dynamic, modern and select market using these exclusive airport lounges en route to local and international destinations.
“In return, visitors to the eleven Bidvest Premier Lounges in South Africa will be able to select from some of the best wines and spirits entered into the Michelangelo Awards, knowing that these products have been awarded medals by some of the best professional judges from around the globe,” she says. “This is also a tremendous opportunity for the South Africa wine and spirits industries to showcase their products, which are currently of the best standards in history.”
“It is well-known that the wine and spirits business is about forging relationships,” says Immelman. “Michelangelo’s relationship with Bidvest Premier Lounge is thus being complemented by allowing winemakers and spirits producers to conduct informative tasting sessions within the confines of these airport lounges. Guests will no doubt find this informative and entertaining, and for the producer it is a great way of communicating with their market directly.”
Another bonus is that visitors to Bidvest Premier Lounges fortunate enough to be in the lounge at the time of wine tastings will be able to order any of the Michelangelo award-winning products in the lounge directly from the producer for delivery to any address.
