Kartsounis, Valerie
Self-employed in Liquor retail - Central Liquors - Boksburg
Contact: val
Website: Central Liquors.
Val Kartsouis qualified as a pre-primary teacher and lecturer in Educare. She has been self-employed in the liquor retail since 2000. This includes wine consulting, conducting tasting and compiling wine lists etc. She has an e-commerce site on the Internet, selling fine wine and spirit.
Val attained Cape Wine Masters in 1993, with a research topic titled A case study of Central Liquors (a wine store) including wine selection in a liquor outlet and how to develop the wine side of a retail outlet (product selection).
Her wine activities include promotions, writing, judging, and education.
Val has lectured for the CWA since 1989. She was a wine writer for a local newspaper from 1994 to 1996 and ran a weekly radio chat show (a taste of wine) on Radio East Rand 93.5 for two years from 1996 to 1998. Val started four wine clubs and has conducted tastings for them and many others over the years. She has been a judge wine for the Juilet Cullinan Wine Show abd a guest judge at the Veritas Awards.
Her special areas of wine interest include keeping up to date with local wine events, attending launches of new wines/liquor product and visits by wine producers wishing to stock their products. Internationally she has visited the wine regions of France and various whisky distilleries in Scotland. Overseas introductions have came from the public relations officers of the various large companies who had visited Central Liquors.
Val says that her favourite wine is the wine in her glass, but her true love is French Champagne and the classic International wines of. Bordeaux, Rhone and Tuscany.
Val is an enthusiastic cook committed to the “slow food” concept. She enjoys gardening, especially growing herbs. She also enjoys camping, boating, ornithology and game watching.
