Heading to the southern Caribbean, even the most discerning palates will appreciate the home-style cuisine of La Tartaruga in Tobago, accompanied by wines from the restaurant's impressive cellar. La Tartaruga has for the past four years won Wine Spectator's Award of Excellence, with a wine list of over 240 selections. Exclusively Italian, it features vintages from Piedmont, Tuscany and Umbria. Do not even think of leaving without asking to see the wine cellar!

A recipient of Wine Spectator's Grand Award for the past six years, Anguilla's Malliouhana also houses a 25,000-bottle wine cellar. The restaurant's extensive wine list, offering over 1,300 wines, complements the dining experience, a blend of Caribbean and French cuisine. Also complementing its fine dining experience, French restaurant Le Louve, at the Hilton Hotel in Kingston, Jamaica has its own wine cellar located on the property. The island's north coast boats three worthy collections including the cellar of Charela Inn, Negril exclusively housing imported French wines and Pol Roger Champagne -- Winston Churchill's favorite. And not to be outdone, the well-stocked wine cellars of Sugar Mill at Half Moon Golf, Tennis, and Beach Club, and 5-Star Diamond Award-winning restaurant Le Papillon at Royal Plantation are a treat for any connoisseur.

Whereas most of the notable cellars are associated with restaurants and hotels, there are private collectors and wine enthusiasts who also enjoy sharing their favorites and finds with guests and customers. Having resided in Jamaica for the past seven years, Paul Hanworth boasts a private cellar with over 2,000 bottles representing between 60 and 70 different wines. Although he describes the cellar itself as not really being a showpiece, on occasion Paul hosts wine tastings for members of his wine club, 1876 Wines, at his house overlooking Kingston.

For more information on our destinations, or ideas and themes for your meetings, incentives, and special events, send us an email or an RFP from our web site at www.sncdestinations.com.

Bridging the Cross-Cultural Gap in Business Following a group of 16 people attending a course at their company's corporate university, Richard Pooley's article Bridging the Cultural Divide demonstrates how around the world, people of similar age doing similar jobs, differ in their idea of what is normal behavior: "Crucially, too many people assume that what is normal for them – such as how to make decisions, manage people, negotiate contracts, make presentations, pitch for business, or run meetings – is normal for others from different countries and cultures. And yet those who have to lead international teams or manage overseas subsidiaries or outsourcing relationships know that the reality is very different. If we pretend cultural differences do not exist, those cross-border deals and relationships often fail." The author suggests that one solution to bridge these differences is to change the nature of the kick-off meeting. "Get people to reveal their own values and behavioral norms. Ask them to agree on what the standard operating procedures will be". A second and more obvious solution is to give the team cross-cultural training on a specific culture as soon as possible. The article continues by discussing the effective use of "offshore English" and overcoming language barriers. The fact is that too often those of us who speak English as a first language have more difficulty communicating effectively in English to non-native speakers due to our use of idioms, colloquial expressions, or simply not keeping it simple. We shared the following tips just a few months ago, but they are worth repeating: - Keep it simple and slow down - Avoid asking yes/no questions - Paraphrase to ensure understanding - Do not raise your voice in hopes of being better understood - Keep a check on your humor To find more cross-cultural tips visit our blog, Something Extra. For more information on our cross-cultural workshops and presentations, visit our web site.   SNC Destinations, Inc. email: info@sncdestinations.com web: http://www.sncdestinations.com blog: http://sncdestinations.com/cblog PERMISSION TO REPRINT: The contents of this e-newsletter may be copied, reproduced or freely distributed for all non-profit purposes without the consent of the author as long as the author's name and contact information are included. This e-newsletter is sent to all individuals who signed up for our mailing list at www.sncdestinations.com or www.sncdestinations.com/cblog, and to friends and clients of SNC Destinations. We treat your contact information as private and confidential. We will never sell or distribute our subscriber list.