#VinoPeople: Christine Fortuin, tasting room manager at Darling Cellars

Christine Fortuin is the tasting room manager at Darling Cellars, a winery situated on the cool west coast of South Africa, close to the hamlet of Darling. Darling Cellars produces various award-winning wines, including the popular Chocoholic Pinotage, Darling Cellars Cap Classique, and others.

Their wonderful selection of wines are available for tasting at their tasting room. And thanks to Christine, the tasting room experience is better than it's ever been. Informative wine tastings, light meals, an outdoor jungle gym, and friendly tasting room staff make for a memorable visit. 

Fourteen years ago, Christine Fortuin started out as cleaner at Darling Cellars. Today she is the proud manager of the tasting room. Boasting the title of "Manager: Direct to Customer", she is part of the senior management team at the winery. Under her leadership, the tasting room at Darling Cellars has become a destination and she still has a few tricks up her sleeve to further improve the experience and service.

While she was still a general worker in the tasting room, she realised that she loves working with people and sharing the Darling Cellars story with them. Management noticed that she was enthusiastic and had a real interest in learning more about the wines. They promoted her to switchboard operator, helping out over weekends in the tasting room.

Christine attended courses at the Cape Wine Academy to improve her wine knowledge and computer skills. These skills are valuable to her in her position as tasting room manager today.

She enjoys her work and is continuously thinking of new ideas to attract more feet to the tasting room.

For instance, she started the initiative of offering a special lunch menu on Wednesdays. This grew to such an extent that the lunches are often sold out and, in the process, also created additional job opportunities at Darling Cellars.

Christine wants to inspire her colleagues and motivate them to reach their full potential. A mother, her children are her biggest priority in life. "Spending time with my kids is my favourite thing to do in my spare time," she says.

She sees her job at Darling Cellars as an opportunity to create something lasting for them.

Christine invites you to come and visit her at the Darling Cellars Tasting Room at Mamre Weg Station, R315, Darling. To make a booking, phone Christine on 022 492 2276.