MALU LAMBERT - Wine Writer
"The editors of wine.co.za have always allowed me to push the envelope with ideas and to get creative. There was the time I infiltrated South Africa’s secret tasting circles, kicking off with The Wine Swines, one of the longest running tasting circles; the Swines boasts wall-to-wall heavy weight palates, along the likes of Dave Hughes, David Biggs, the late Alan Mullins and Duimpie Bayly, Jeremy Walker, Hoffie Hofmeyr, Walter Finlayson, Guy Webber, Etienne Le Riche and Cobus Joubert, among others. Apparently I was the first woman ever to have sat in on a tasting, let alone scribble down their secrets! Luckily I had a few questionable jokes of my own to contribute so I was warmly welcomed.
For wine.co.za I've dug into obscure grapes like Palomino, Albariño; I've gone totally leftfield and investigated how it's possible to taste wine in shapes. I've waxed lyrical about salty sauvignon grown and vinified by the sea. And in a very forward-thinking move, editor Trudie Webb invited me to taste canned wines at the wine.co.za's HQ and to write up my thoughts, the largest tasting of its kind in the country, which stirred some very interesting debate. All this and more. Thank you to the team for always being an open-minded portal to the world of South African wine, and for allowing me to go down the rabbit hole when the mood strikes.
GARY SHEARER - was Cape Classics
Shakespeare’s ‘what’s in a name’ rings clearly as I think back on my journey with Kevin and Judy from the inception of this now well-known company WINE.CO.ZA twenty-five years ago. To be honest, the queries that came back around my direct involvement in the wine industry from having an email address with the domain wine in it was pretty cool. In hindsight, I think it actually evoked some mildly superior feelings that I didn’t quite appreciate then! People often asked how I got this domain. As if I was part of the (fabulous!) wine industry?
Turns out I was, and after meeting Kevin and Judy at a dinner (over an old bottle of Meerlust Kevin remembered!) prior to them launching WINE.CO.ZA, we started sharing and processing the possibilities around marketing of wines using this new creature becoming known as the world wide web.
And what a journey the wine industry was and is. And one that WINE.CO.ZA has been an integral part of. Starting up very early after South Africa’s re-entry into world markets WINE.CO.ZA has tracked the journey and progress of the wine industry itself, its trials and tribulations, as well as its wonderful successes and inroads and acceptance into new markets. For all of us, being able to be present at the famed London Wine Fair at Earls Court in those early days was awe-inspiring and mind-opening. It also instilled a sense of pride and delight, with the pinnacle the year that Charles Back of Fairview took over the entrance and entire lobby to launch his now legendary Goats do Roam. We knew we’d arrived then!
And slowly they built the company. Which most of the industry didn’t understand or utilize in those early days. But as the awareness and demand for e-marketing grew, so did the demand for the services of WINE.CO.ZA. Our close association with the team expanded even more when Michelle Ladewig started working for them half-day, and we shared her time with them.
It has been a privilege and a pleasure to have known Kevin & Judy, and to have seen them start from scratch to get to this wonderful 25-year milestone!
Here’s to the next 50 you two!
HEIDI DUMINY (CWM) - Principal of Cape Wine Academy
CONGRATULATIONS to wine.co.za on your 25th Anniversary!
Thank you to Judy, Kevin and the team for two and a half decades of providing a fantastic central platform to engage with all aspects of Cape wines.
wine.co.za has always been a very important information source for anyone who has completed any of the Cape Wine Academy's courses.
For most of us in the wine industry, the daily email from wine.co.za is a fondly entrenched part of our daily musings.
It's been wonderful to witness how far you have traveled in bringing us all things wines through news, events, education, information and online sales.
Well done - long may wine.co.za continue to thrive.
CATHY MARSTON - International Wine Education Centre
I think the best things I ever wrote for you were the Christmas quizzes and articles. I remember that several people actually took them seriously (how could they do that when they were so ridiculous??!!) which was actually, in some ways, funnier than the article itself. But I loved writing those and I think that one of them for quite a long time had the most views on the site.
wine.co.za started just before we came to this country so we’ve kind of grown up together in the SA wine industry and it has always been so helpful to have a platform and a mouthpiece to celebrate, publicise and explore SA wine. You have been a huge support to us in all our endeavours – The Nose, my short-lived but enjoyable journalism career and now with the WSET courses.
I love that you have always been enthusiastic, you’ve always dressed up and shown up to everything even when you might not have wanted to and most importantly, you have always been positive. I couldn’t imagine SA wine without wine.co.za and I really hope that you continue to celebrate our industry for many more years to come.
Huge gratitude to all who have supported us over the years - our clients, customers and our dedicated team. Follow all our 25th birthday fun by clicking on the image below.
