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ARUBA TRADING COMPANY
WINE SEMINAR WITH JORGE MIRANDA
“Early Wine Birds”
An interesting wine seminar was set up by Aruba Trading Company’s Govert van der Hout
and Mariuccia Amaddeo, at the Aruba Wyndham Resort. Jorge Miranda, traveling wine
specialist of French Guadeloup's Compagnie Antillaise de Distribution, facilitated the
learning process set up in the morning hours. A group of enthusiastic "Early Bird
Wine Lovers," participated in the experience, tasting the fruit of vineyars in
France, Italy and Chile. They were staff members of different local restaurants and
hotels.
Miranda starts at the root of the process. You know the wines by the grapes used, he
reports. If you understand and recognize the grapes, you understand and appreciate their
end product, the bottled wines, he adds. Variety wines are produced from just one grape
‘varietal.' Blended wines are wines produced from several grape varieties, mixed
nicely until the desired quality is reached.
Starting with white wines:
Sauvignon Blanc is the grape 100% responsible for the Baron de Ladoucette Pouilly
Fumé. Seminar goers learned that in a blend this grape variety tastes differently.
Examples? The Baron Philippe de Rotschild’s Graves Blanc, a blend of Sauvignon Blanc,
Sémillon and Muscadelle, evoking a complex bouquet of soft fruits, pineapple and flowers.
Viognier is a grape variety used as a single variety in famous French, Rhône
Valley wines. These may be found exclusively in Condrieu and Hermitage. The group tasted a
Georges Duboeuf Viognier from the South of France, Pays d’Ardèche, which was highly
rated and affordable.
The group also tackled the famed Chardonnay variety, nicknamed “the king of
the grapes” grown in Valley Central, Chile, by Baron Philippe de Rothschild, a French
wine producing legend
Followed by the reds:
The Gamay grape, responsible for the Beaujolais wine Moulin-A-Vent was a real
treat, fruity and easy-going, a nice stand alone. The tasters found the Baron Philippe de
Rothschild Pauillac from the Haut Médoc region very soft, round and gentle. No wonder.
The main grape variety in this wine is Cabernet Sauvignon followed by Cabernet
Franc and Merlot. The Chianti Classico from Villa Antinori, was outstanding.
A blend of Sangiovese, and Cabernet Sauvignon, a modern version produced by Chianti.
Jorge Miranda explains the traditional blend for these wines are Canaiolo Nero
and Malvasia, but with a departure from tradition, they taste even better. Last
but not least the “Escudo Rojo” was poured. It is literally translated from
Spanish as “Rothschild,”a Chilean wine produced from the varieties Cabernet
Sauvignon, Carmenère and Cabernet Franc. The Carmenère,
reported Jose Miranda, is very special in this blend. The plants were brought to Chile
from the Bordeaux region a hundred-sixty years ago and are doing surprisingly well in the
Maipo and Rapel Valley. The marriage of French seedlings and Chilean soil resulted in an
outstanding wine, known worldwide.
It was early, but the best time to learn, smell, taste wines is in the morning hours.
Wines are complicated, and the theory perhaps mind boggling, but after a few sips, even
the slow learners caught fire.
[courtesy of
Rona Coster]
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DIRECT TV FINALLY
COMES TO ARUBA
When I say that I grew up without television
and that I was first introduced to Big Bird and Sesame Street at the age of 18, most
people look at me with quiet disbelief. But it's true. Where I grew up the people in
charge didn't consider the mind-altering power of TV a necessity. They were not about to
corrupt the spirit of the nation by introducing idiot boxes. Instead of flopping on a
couch with a remote in hand my friends read, then went to the movies almost every
afternoon. I did however hear about satellite communication early in life, from a
notorious Russian Prime Minister, in the 60s. I remember as a child the beep-beep that
Nikita Khrushchev was so proud of when Sputnik was launch. Aruba in the early 70's just
had Telearuba as a source of news and entertainment. The station relied on Hawaii 5.0
reruns and Telenovelas to keep the restless natives numbed. One of the anchors' favorite
pronouncements was: "Sorry, the Teleprinter lines from Curacao are down, no news
tonight," thus wrapping up the broadcast and retiring for the night.
In the hotels in the early 80's, I recall quite some discussions regarding the
installation of television sets in guest rooms. Two distinctly different schools of
thought prevailed, one which advocated as little electronic interference as possible and
another which recommended exactly the opposite. Why would we intrude on our guests'
Caribbean vacation, asked the hoteliers,. They didn't want to divert guests' attention
away from the bars and restaurants where they were supposed to spend their vacation
dollars. Other thinkers naturally recommended the transport of American-lifestyle into
Aruba's tropical setting, as a key to success. All that chatter was obviously futile when
the world changed with the arrival of the first satellite dish on the island.
Overnight we succumbed to TV's temptation, installing ugly fiberglass giants in every
backyard. This off course heralded the Age of Information and innocence flew out the door.
More than 1000 dishes sprouted here in just that first year. While they became more
compact and lighter with time, this country enjoyed signals from the blue yonder freely.
We took pirating the airwaves for granted and never questioned the right to use, or
ownership of the electronically raided first class entertainment.
When a battle was raging in the US between cable operators charging for subscription and
satellite retailers promoting the sale of equipment which makes signal pirating possible,
we were happily watching HBO and Cinemax free of charge.
But then the US Federal Authorities got involved, and scrambled our reception. The Big
Black Out took all programs off our screens. We fought back with bootlegged Black Boxes
then  Zapcrypting
chips. There was even a crazy period where in order to breathe life into our electronic
garbage we had to hand feed a 32 digit-code into the descrambler for each station, each
month. Imagine, you had to punch in new counter-measures every week. A game of Cops and
Robbers ensued and we fell comfortably into it. We had to have our signals, didn't we? And
as we couldn't subscribe legally, we simply had to raid them!
All this changed when cable arrived. The national cable company dug up trenches everywhere
putting down lines, going house to house with the promise of affordable entertainment.
Affordable it is, yet there is never anything worth watching! And the company never
bothered to honor its promise and get to neck of the woods neighborhoods. They left a good
portion of island homes out of the loop. I secretly think that their signal is pirated as
well, thus we never get the premium, hot programs and sport buffs resort to watching
Superbowl and world class soccer via Venezuelan television channels, with Spanish
voice-overs.
In the early 90s General Instruments started the international sale of Video Cipher
Renewable Securities, a zigmo called VCRS, for overseas subscribers. We've been fighting
for so long over pirated programs we found it hard to become members of what we thought
was legal. But over time shrewd operators, falsely presenting themselves as Direct TV
vendors, made their way into our hearts converting islanders into subscribers. For almost
a decade the Latin programming kept us informed and entertained. Then on January 14th,
2002, the screens went dark again. Apparently, the real thing, the American Direct TV
providers have been ripped off, losing fees from 1.3 million subscribers in the Caribbean!
So just ahead of the World Cup, Superbowl and the Winter Olympics, they decided to pull
the plug, plunging Aruba into No-TV darkness. Some of the hotel general managers have
considerably more gray hair today, as a result of worrying sick whether or not they will
be able to show the crucial football games to their guests. It was an episode straight out
of Herman Wouk's comedy "Don't Stop the Carnival," about living out your
fantasies turned nightmares on an exotic Caribbean island. While Arubans dutifully paid
their bills and expected service, local Direct TV distributors pocketed the fees,
forgetting to settle their own overseas invoices with US providers. No Tickie-No Washie,
said the people who beam the signal down. The era of a new solution was dawning . . .
Direct TV is here.
I met Franklin Lopez in his just being painted set of offices in the Dana building, just
across the street from Ling & Sons Supermarket. Representing the Latin American division,
Lopez is in charge of marketing services to the Andes mountain region, the Caribbean and
Central America. The company he says, will recognize some of the old dishes and IRD's
installed, providing the equipment is compatible with that of the official service
provider. A dish from scratch, with an annual subscription will cost the Aruban
hungry-for-fun consumer $349.-. Then the annual program packages offer diverse options,
family fun, blue movies, premium movie channels, pay per view, and special events, ranging
in price from the basic $5 to the deluxe $49.
Lopez has a local partner, Leo Correa, a Venezuela born entrepreneur and a real estate
developer. Correa is a colorful personality with a penchant for black or white clothes. He
is as comfortable at the bar at Pasion or Cuba's Cooking as he is on
construction sites on the island having built a number of beautiful homes here. Rustic is
his style and he also dug a few lovely famous swimming pools, surrounding them with
natural rock and cacti gardens. How do you go from construction to TV, I asked. Then I
remembered he has always been a computer whiz and a digital maven, thus the transition is
easy. Correa reports working on the project for the last two years, chasing permits and
papers with the sole purpose of clearing all illegal, pirated activity on behalf of Direct
TV, which is a Hughes affiliate.
This time, it's for real. The company operates in 28 countries, and Correa will take care
of their market in both Aruba & Curacao, in conjunction with Rafael Garcia a fellow
real estate developer. Aruba, Correa reports, probably has 5,000 households which were
left in the dark when the plug was pulled. Direct TV now promises 151 channels including
91 video channels. The mother company is a regular giant, closely connected to General
Motors, which is good pedigree when broadcast syndication and copyright matters spin into
international intrigues played out nightly in my bedroom.
[courtesy of
Rona Coster]
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THE NEW ARUBA ALOE
PRODUCTION PLANT AND MUSEUM ARE A REALITY
You should see the place. It's beautiful. The
not yet inaugurated headquarters of Aruba Aloe are stylish and cool. The building is
modernly designed. It's very colorful. The Aloe museum is truly innovative, the catwalk
over the production floor super-interesting and the boutique, the logo-store, well it's
just like shopping at Bloomies.
Aruba Aloe is the oldest company on the island. It was established in 1890. The island has
always enjoyed a close association with the sturdy, desert plant. In fact most of the island's
economy at that time depended on cultivating and harvesting, the True Plant, Aloe Vera.
The constipated civilized world was fond of the black tar-like substance, extracted from
the succulent brownish-yellow leaf, and pharmaceutical companies all over the US and
Europe, used Aruba's quality export to provide instant intestinal relief to chronic and
occasional sufferers. Historians report that a third of Aruba's surface was covered with
Aloe plants in the 19th century.
Since 1968, velvety creams, fragrant shampoos and quite effective deodorants were made by
the Aruba Aloe company, when it was owned by the Eman family. They started incorporating
the extract, the gel, in a new line of products made for the local market. Aloe was
becoming again a popular ingredient in skin care mid-sixties, and the Emans just went with
the flow.
By the way, the Aloe museum confirms that in the ancient world Aloe gets mentioned as one
of the secret weapons, which made Cleopatra so irresistible. It is also said that
Alexander the Great healed his battle scars applying a bit of the medicinal gook.
These days, it is a comforting for us to know that besides a successful vacation product,
we are also blessed with industry. Our economy is now diversified a bit with a state of
the art cosmetic plant. The new plant is situated a short distance from the hotels, in
Hato, which is historically the island's Aloe capital. It is surrounded by 600.000 square
meters of plantation, out of which at the moment 40.000 are planted and fully restored
Aruba's Aloe extract says Luis Posner, is as good as it gets. And the facility we just
built can compete with any cosmetic complex in the world. It is pharmaceutically
certified, which means it fulfills all FDA requirements. Thus our products may be sold in
the US, everywhere, without any restrictions. Mark my word, Luis predicts, Aruba Aloe will
do for the island what Coke did for the US and what Heineken did for the Dutch. We will be
sold everywhere, in all glitzy department stores, sooner than you think! Well, from your
mouth to the ears of the creator!
Aloe stages a comeback
The old modest Aruba Aloe plant right next to the airport concocted world class sunscreens
and sun tan lotions. Those were really good, and sold quite well in mini-marts and
supermarket. But then the product's unglamorous reality was exposed naked when the glitzy,
loud and trendy Banana Boat & Hawaiian Tropic displays arrived on the scene. The edict
was: Reinvent yourself, or die.
In walks Rufus Holding N.V. the parent company of Licores Aruba N.V. and takes over the
business in March of 2000. Owner Luis Posner, disillusioned by the unfaithful behavior of
world famous liquor brands, is looking to buy his own. Her wants to control planting,
harvesting and production. In short he has an arrangement in mind similar to that of an
estate vinery, a chateau, in which all aspects of production are influenced by a maven
owner.
I visited the new factory Thursday, and spent some time with Marketing Manager Michel
Henriquez, and Dr. Koos Weil, the mad-scientist in charge of the scientific process and
lab testing. Michel was responsible for finalizing the updated packaging. Koos pared down
the production line from 120 to 50 products. Another member of the team, Prof. Hans
Junginger, the head of the  Pharmaceutical Technology Department at the University of Leiden,
regularly applies his seal of approval on all products. He tests and updates periodically,
from his Dutch university office.
A Canadian company also in charge of Hershey Chocolate and K-Mart's image - both aging
product with a nouveau incarnation, extensively researched a fresh look for Aruba Aloe.
Three distinct lines were restructured, Sun care, Skin Care and Shampoos. The new bottles
now bear the suggestion of a female's curvy body. The silhouette is slim. It even fits
into your pocket says Michel, an element which is important when suntan lotions are
concerned. The color scheme is very up to date with orange assigned to sun care and bright
yellow to after sun options; deep sensuous blue to body care; metallic purple to shampoos,
apparently women are partial to that color. Most important the bottles stand on their
heads and are thus very user-friendly.
Not surprisingly, the building reflects the product lines. The corridors are bright
yellow, the board room sensuous blue, and Louis' office, metallic purple!
With the way things look now, Aruba Aloe had achieved what it set out to do, namely
establish that the company has been around, that it has a rich history, and that the
product is natural devoid of all chemicals or tinkering. On the other hand the bottles
look hip, fun, stylish, which make them fly off shelves. The Kong Hing display, says
Michel is restocked three times a day. And when the Aruba Aloe Balm products are sold in
US chain drugstores, advertising the island, they will promote us as a destination,
besides doing the cosmetic job.
The still unfinished museum is inspired by the shape of the Aloe leaves. It was designed
by local wunderkind Renwich Heronimo who did a superb job. Local craftsmen did the wood
work and construction and Luis is very proud of his local team. A 5-minute movie produced
by Rebecca Roos, and nicely narrated by photographer Diane kaijzer treats visitors to an
short historical overview of Aloe's contribution to Aruba.
Hato is located a short ride from the Eagle Beach Resorts. Just drive up the road from the
Texaco station on the traffic circle not far from the Royal Cabana Casino, then take a
right at the Hato school complex.
[courtesy of
Rona Coster]
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TALK OF THE TOWN
ATTRACTS LOCALS AND BUSINESS TRAVELERS
 Managing Director Ed Malone, Down Island
Resorts & Inns, invited the press to tour his recently reopened Talk of the
Town Beach Resort. The charming, intimate hotel offers 63 comfortable rooms, two
pools, an outdoor Moonlight grill restaurant, a bar and a great beach, just across the
street at Surfside. This is Aruba's oldest operating hotel, Malone said and we recently
completely fixed, painted and prepared it to enter the market as a competitive excellent
business & vacation option.The business traveler will find many conveniences at Talk
of the Town, which is nicely outfitted to suit his needs and centrally located. The
business community, Malone adds may call and make room reservations, taking advantage of
Talk of the Town's very attractive commercial rates. In his presentation to the press
Malone also invited foreign suppliers and salespeople to come back to their original
home-away-from-home as Talk of the Town was for many years, Aruba's business headquarters.
For the Antillean visitors, Malone explained that a variety of vacation options is
available. Once Royal Aruba Air takes to the sky, Malone is confident that leisure travel
between the islands will significantly increase.
Last but not least, Malone addressed himself
to the local community. The locals he says, have always patronized Talk of the Town. In
the old days, Talk of the Town served as the island's Party-Headquarters! Now, there are
signs that the Arubans are coming back. And to give them an extra incentive to return
Malone announced a weekly Happy Hour , Friday from 5 to 7 p.m. followed by mega dance
parties at Contempo Disco, with Aruba's music sensation Oreo, and band leader Claudius
Philips. In the Conference & Meeting market,  Malone feels
that his resort is very well positioned as it is capable of handling symposiums and
workshop. The Island's Nurses Association, ODEA, for example, enjoyed the hospitality of
the Talk of the Town the day the press dropped in. Besides Malone, also present at the
press conference Front Office/Reservations Manager Swinda Geerman, Executive Chef Speedy
v/d Biesen and Chief Engineer Edgar Bregita.
[courtesy of
Rona Coster]
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ODEA CONFERENCE:
NURSES ALWAYS THERE FOR YOU - CARING FOR FAMILIES
 The Talk of the Town Beach Resort hosted the annual ODEA
conference, Aruba Nurses Association. This year's symposium focused on
Caring For Families, a holistic view of illness as it relates to an extended family
circle. On hand to meet and greet the island's nurses, the Minister of Public Health, also
various health professional who addressed the forum with related topics. Aruba's Customs
Department made a special appearance. Customs here work very closely with the island's
hospital employees in the fight against drugs. Recently with improved airport security
drug smugglers resort to swallowing little pouches filled with narcotics.
 As the 'Narco-Galinas,' Drug-Chickens are caught
at the airport, Customs officials deliver them to the hospital where the drug is carefully
purged from their intestines. The process, messy and unpleasant beside being a health
hazard requires close cooperation between health workers and customs officers.
 Between two coffee breaks nicely catered by the
Talk of the Town Beach Club Food & Beverage department, Nicky the drug sniffing dog
gave the nurses a demonstration of her amazing abilities. The Talk of the Town Beach Club
says General Manager Ed Malone is perfectly suited for small conferences and meetings. It
is conveniently located, nicely equipped and offers ample parking, he adds.
[courtesy of
Rona Coster]
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BEAUTY & BEAST,
FOR GREAT SILVER JEWELRY
Beauty & the Beast, the
little jewelry store on Palm Beach, right next to Salt
& Pepper at the entrance to the Arawak Garden boasts a new collection of
baubles. Owner Heleen Bongers has just returned from a Mexican shopping spree. This time
the
Dutch-born jewelry expert brought back a fresh crop of designs starring chunky colored
stones, topaz, amethysts and citrine. If "More is Better" is your credo in life,
you will find fulfillment at Beauty & the Beast. Naturally, those with more discrete
tastes are invited to browse through trays of tiny earrings and pendants as well as
bracelets and chains. Heleen offers lovely complete sets at affordable prices, rows of
bangles and the latest, raw unpolished semi-precious stones set in fine sterling silver.
Saturday afternoon Heleen invited her girlfriends to shop. Over some Dubonnet on ice, they
exercised their considerable shopping skills, having a wonderful time in the process.
 
[courtesy of
Rona Coster]
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ARUBA SONESTA BEACH
RESORT RE-FLAGGED AS OF APRIL 30
New Name & Franchise Affiliation Brings Renaissance Aruba Beach Resort & Casino to Aruba
The popular Aruba Sonesta Beach Resort, the only hotel in the heart of the island’s
capital of Oranjestad, will change franchise affiliation as of April 30, 2002.
The hotel will become the Renaissance
Aruba Beach Resort & Casino, a welcomed addition to the Renaissance
collection, part of the Marriott hotel group. Marriott brings to the
resort 75 years of experience and more that 2000 hotels worldwide. Eduardo de Veer,
the owner of Metacorp, which is the parent company of the hotel, will
retain its current management.
“The Renaissance name and franchise
agreement signifies the beginning of a new era for the hotel,” said Mark
Nooren, current managing director of the property who will remain in place after
the name and franchise switch. “The reputation of the brand and its marketing
strategies align perfectly with our vision for the hotel, which is to expand and diversify
our markets,” he said. Renaissance and Marriott hold the largest and most impressive
marketing and reservations network worldwide.
“Metacorp is appreciative of
Sonesta’s support over the years and looks forward to entering into its new
relationship with Renaissance,” Nooren added.
As of April 30, 2002
reservations for Renaissance Aruba Beach Resort & Casino can be made by calling 800-421-8188.
Wholesale and charter operators as well as GDS systems will also show the name change as
of that date.
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