Read between the wines |13 July 2018

• Books, wine and chocolate brownies – what more could anyone want?

Chanterelle Bookstore hosted a promotional event named ‘Read between the wines’ - a concept proposed and organised by The Wine Club Seychelles at the bookshop on Quincy Street in Victoria.

Photo source: The Wine Club Seychelles

Probably the first event of its kind in Seychelles, to join a bookshop and wine tasting, the organisers and host sought to bring book lovers and wine enthusiasts together, in an attempt to further promote the bookstore’s products and services to their customers and friends.

Karen Pragassen, the owner of Chanterelle Bookshop, which opened in 2010, explains that in addition to help animate Victoria after hours, the event was about creating something fun and different for Seychelles, which paired well with The Wine Club Seychelles who were looking for the next interesting place to hold a wine tasting.

Along with some chill-out music by Collective Soul, guests were treated to a wine tasting by Mouton Cadet, supplied by International Sales and Promotion Company (ISPC) Seychelles.

There was also a variety of snacks, including mini burgers, fish fingers, cheese & tomato basil sticks, cucumber sandwiches, banana cake, chocolate cake & cream-filled profiteroles. A selection of brownies were also available, and these were offered by Brownie Brothers, a fairly new bakery business in Seychelles.

“As it’s always great to read a book with glass a wine, we decided why not pair the two together in the shop? We saw the event as a nicerway to shop for your next book while enjoying a glass of wine, some food, music and great company. To paraphrase John Keats Give me books, French wine, fine weather and a little music played out of doors,” says Ms Pragassen.

She adds that it was also a way to bring some cultural education; guests learned about Mouton Cadets’ wines while Mr Clement Slastan from ISPC explained the composition and pairings for the 5 wines by Mouton Cadet. The book quiz got the guests to hunt and match book titles to their authors for a chance to win one bottle of Mouton Cadet Bordeaux if they got the answers right.

Ms Pragassen recalls that some of the answers to the quiz were hilarious and that the best one was The Wine quiz, where guests were placed in groups of 5 and tested on the wine knowledge that they should have gained from Mr Slastan. The winners were then rewarded with pink Mouton Cadet sunglasses, bottle openers and pens.

The Wine Club is a brand of Sales & Marketing Seychelles, and according to the latter’s director and senior consultant, Vesna Rakic, The Wine Club is a promotional tool available for all organisations; they create concepts and content, and develop platforms for tailor-made promotions.

She explains that three major benefits of using such a tool are collaborating to showcase your services or products, relationship building and positive association with your customers.

She further explains that The Wine Club is one such platform where they collaborate with venues (hosts), together with wine and other suppliers, noting that the guest-list is reserved for people 21+ years.

Ms Rakic adds that following the ‘Read between the wines’ event, they sent the guests that attended a feedback survey, to review strengths and areas for improvement. She recalls that “aside from the wine tasting, the social interaction element was a favourite among others, including the snacks, the vibe and the people”.

“The Wine Club Seychelles targets professionals, entrepreneurs, the business community and others who would like to socialise and network in a unique, relaxed atmosphere. Those interested can join the guest-list on our Facebook page. We would definitely like to provide the platform for more promotions in Victoria, thereby participating in making our little town more lively,” says Ms Rakic.

Ms Pragassen feels that there should be more events that offer new experiences in Seychelles, and certainly more with Victoria as the backdrop. In this light, she says that the bookstore will definitely host more special events for their customers in the future.

For further information, follow Chanterelle Bookshop on Facebook; contact Sales & Marketing Seychelles: thisweek@seychelles.net

Photo sources: Chanterelle Bookstore