"There is little that I could add to the brilliant outlook that my colleague Elmarie Rabe, chairperson of the South African Wine Routes Forum (SAWRF) and head of Stellenbosch Wine Routes, shared on wine tourism and wine trends in 2024," says Marisah Nieuwoudt, wine tourism manager at South Africa Wine.
"In Elmarie’s words, ‘The wine industry in 2024 is a blend of traditional practices and modern innovations, reflecting changing consumer preferences, environmental challenges, and technological advancements. From the growing low- and no-alcohol wine market to the sustainable transformation of vineyards and the immersive experiences in wine tourism, the industry is evolving to offer a diverse and responsible wine experience. As these trends continue to shape the industry, they offer exciting opportunities for exploration, enjoyment, and engagement for wine enthusiasts and professionals alike."
On 1 February 2024, we released the results of the Macro-Economic Impact of the Wine Industry on the South African Economy: 2022 Vintage issued by FTI Consulting, as well as the Economic Value of the South African Wine Tourism Industry in 2022 research issued by Futureneer Advisors.
"The results of the Economic Value of Wine Tourism 2022 study exceeded all our expectations," says Marisah. "In 2019, wine tourism contributed R7,3 billion to the South African economy and supported 36 406 employment opportunities. During COVID-19, we modelled that the sector would only recover from the blow dealt to it by severe travel restrictions and recurrent bans on the sale of alcohol by the end of 2023. Instead of the modelled contribution of R5,7 billion to GDP at the end of 2022, the wine tourism industry surged ahead and not only fully recovered by the end of 2022 but showed a heady increase in its contribution to the economy, reaching a total of R9,3 billion."
Graph 1. Comparison of forecast wine tourism recovery and actual results
Wine tourism and the financial sustainability of wineries
Wine tourism is increasingly important to the wine industry as a source of revenue because 17.3% of wineries’ turnover was attributed to wine tourism in 2022. This is an increase from the 14.7% contribution reported in 2019.
Graphs 2 & 3. Wine tourism contribution to total winery turnover and micro-cellar turnover
Illustration 1. Wine tourism turnover share of all cellar turnover by cellar size
"South Africa Wine will revise the South African wine tourism strategy developed in 2017 with our partners, the SAWRF," explains Marisah. "We have achieved many of the big, hairy, audacious goals (BHAG) set out in the original strategy – despite navigating a global pandemic – and with building blocks for a strong foundation in place, we are in an excellent position to refine and craft our strategy for the next three to five years."
An international perspective on the future of wine
Two realisations struck after attending the Wine Future Conference in Coimbra, Portugal, and speaking on a panel about wine tourism:
"First, we had a few unique challenges as a wine-producing country. The second is that our wine tourism is offering, in terms of its accessibility, diversity, quality and level of organisation, i.e. networks (like the SAWRF) and structures (such as a national coordinating office), is miles ahead of our competitors," Marisah concluded.
Thought-provoking case studies
The wine industry’s challenge with younger drinkers has been well recorded, e.g. by the ‘Silicon Valley Bank State of the US Wine Industry Report’ in 2023 and 2024. A panel titled ‘TikTok, Discord and Paid Influencers – Reaching New Customers’ posed the question of whether we are willing to adapt to young wine enthusiasts’ tastes and preferences and meet them where they are at, whether that be digitally or in real life.
- The need to manage a diversified wine portfolio was discussed when the opportunity seemed to be in two places: popular, sweet, easy-drinking wines and, at the other end of the spectrum, premium or super-premium wines. While appealing to the declining younger wine market, an example of doing this was presented by Mateus Wines, which celebrated its 80th birthday by issuing three collectable, limited edition bottles. They also undertook a major sponsorship of and brand activation at Rock in Rio in Lisbon, featuring artists like Ed Sheeran, Camilla Cabello and Doja Cat. These activations were combined with influencer marketing and a media campaign in seven countries. The results? In the target audience group (18- to 34-year-olds), the brand awareness levels were 79%, intent to purchase increased to 35%, social media impressions exceeded 120 million, and they achieved €94 000 in DTC sales during the festival alone. This approach was contrasted with the marketing approach for Barca-Velha, a flagship estate and winery in the Douro Valley and the first still Portuguese wine to be rated 100 points. The same company, Sogrape, owns both wines.
- Wine tourism offers an excellent opportunity to bring energy and fun to wine to appeal to a younger market. Interesting collaborations – like Donnafugata Winery in Sicily partnering with Dolce & Gabbana, Bayernmoor Winery in Woodinville, Washington partnering with Swanky Scoop to offer wine ice cream, wine block parties that have become very popular in the USA complete with food trucks and music bands, putting a new spin on traditional food and wine festivals – present us with the opportunity to introduce our offering to new consumer segments and grow the wine-loving community.
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