THE 13th annual Lesotho Wine Festival created temporary employment opportunities for about 700 people and attracted approximately 1200 guests, underlining its role in supporting local businesses, tourism and the creative economy.
Held at Maseru Club this past weekend, the festival, powered by FNB Lesotho, brought together 52 wine producers from different countries, local entrepreneurs, artists and musicians in an event that organisers say continues to showcase Lesotho’s hospitality.
Festival organiser, Paulo de Freitas, described this year’s edition as a huge success, saying attendance had deliberately been limited to approximately 1200 guests to preserve the festival’s exclusive lifestyle experience.
He said most ticket packages had sold out weeks before the event, while guesthouses and lodges were largely fully booked.
“We managed to employ roughly 700 people to work on the setting up and working on the day of the event, which was mostly students and first-time job seekers,” de Freitas said.
He added that the festival attracted groups from outside Maseru, giving visitors an opportunity to explore hospitality offerings in other parts of the country.
Beyond wine tasting, the event provided a platform for local entrepreneurs to market their products and services to festivalgoers, with participating businesses showcasing handmade jewellery, accessories, beadwork, food and other creative products.
Among the local brands were Sweven Bites, which specialises in charcuterie and curated grazing experiences, as well as Zuzu Made This, Twofordesigns and IDo.Beads.
Zuzu Made This produces accessories using locally available and upcycled materials, including traditional seshoeshoe fabric, bottle caps and cans. Twofordesigns specialises in illustration, graphic design and multimedia visual communication, while IDo.Beads offers handcrafted jewellery, ornaments, souvenirs and other beadwork products.
Sweven Bites, meanwhile, focuses on food presentation through curated grazing experiences, adding to the festival’s mix of wine, food and lifestyle offerings.
The event also featured live music and DJ performances by Nthabiseng, Palesa, Morena Sway and Mandla Ntlaks, among other performers.
The combination of wine, entertainment, food and locally made products broadened the festival’s appeal beyond wine tasting, creating an opportunity for businesses in the hospitality and creative sectors to reach new customers.
This year’s festival featured more than 320 wines from Portugal, Spain, Italy, New Zealand, Ukraine and France.
Participating wine brands included Framingham of New Zealand, Casal Garcia of Portugal, Maison Castel of France, Sibu of Ukraine, Giacobazzi of Italy and Muga Rioja of Spain.
Despite the event’s growth, de Freitas said logistical challenges continued to limit the organisers’ ability to expand the festival and improve its offerings.
He cited difficulties in bringing in infrastructure and equipment that are not readily available in Lesotho, as well as border procedures and what he described as inadequate engagement by authorities in finding solutions.
“The border and state’s heavy hand are such a challenge to deal with. It makes it impossible to take it up a few notches,” he said.
De Freitas also raised concerns about the cost and capacity of local suppliers, saying some charged premium prices when faced with the scale and requirements of the event.
He argued that addressing these challenges would enable organisers to improve the festival’s infrastructure and introduce further enhancements.
Despite the obstacles, he said the organisers intended to continue working with wine producers while promoting local hospitality, arts and crafts.
The aim, he added, was to curate an increasingly exclusive experience while showcasing what they regard as the best of Lesotho’s hospitality and creative products.
De Freitas described the festival as one of the largest events of its kind in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.