We launched wine.co.za in 1996, in a time when the internet was in its infancy, and we are proud to show incredible growth since then as we now serve over 2 million pages of South African wine content every month. Approximately 1 million of those are wine fact sheets, making it easy for sommeliers and wine writers to find information for their wine lists and articles in one place.
We continue to publish news, (thanks to our link with Google news feeds, some articles are seeing exceptionally high readership), our diary, (the most comprehensive list of winelands events), winery info, tourism info, learn pages, and of course our ever-popular classified ads (where many find their jobs in the wine industry).
Significant milestones in wine.co.za's history
There have been some significant markers and turning points in our history with each resulting in shifts in the world of wine and technology. Here are just a few of them:
1996 - Launching wine.co.za
Introduced the world of wine to the internet, getting wineries on board, kicking and screaming, diving under desks to get modems to work!
1998 - Researched Wine info
Generated the first Country Wine Portfolios and Export documentation for SAWSEA (South African Wine and Spirits Export Association) – now WoSA.
2000 - Y2K
The shock of the century changing suddenly got wineries to upgrade their tech & get email addresses and we could now market to them by email (not by fax!).
2000 - Worldwide online wine tastings
Our online wine tastings exposed hundreds of people around the world to South African Wines simultaneously, with people signing in from internet cafes in New York, London and Cape Town.
2009 - Launched our (second) online wine shop
After much waiting for a license and paying rent for a warehouse, we launched our online wine shop, which has since morphed into the tastewine.co.za online store in 2022.
2009 - Social Media starting up
The launch of social media saw a shift in marketing, as people started relying on their peers for recommendations. Our social media platforms have seen significant growth in the last few years. Our stats are currently as follows:
2017 - PYDA partnership and internship
We are proud to have a long-standing relationship with the Pinotage Youth Development Academy (PYDA), offering work placements as well as a 12-month internship annually for a graduate. We have had 6 graduates spend their internships with us, learning the wine industry ropes and then stepping out into the world, alongside so many other talented PYDA graduates. You will be challenged to find a tasting room which does not employ a PYDA graduate now
In response to a video highlighting poor living and working conditions on farms, we decided to focus on publishing all the good news stories from the winelands. We have and continue to publish hundreds of positive stories of upliftment, transformation, sustainability and education across the wine industry. Every April, Freedom Month, we publish a good news story every day.
2020-2021 - Survived a global pandemic
With the closing of physical shops and alcohol sales being banned (erratically), online shops for wineries were suddenly a necessity, and our CellarDirect system (launched 2019) managed to get over 70 online shops set up and running in record time. These shops and our own online shop saw unprecedented sales during COVID, which was followed by the madness of trying to deliver thousands of orders everywhere in South Africa. There is not a winery in the country who does not have some kind of extreme story to tell of that crazy time.
2021 - Turning 25!
A significant milestone for any company – and of course a major tribute to our team, some of whom have been with us for 17 years and more.
2021-2023 - Acquisition by Southern Skies and liquidation of Southern Skies
The promise of retirement saw wine.co.za agree to the acquisition by Southern Skies Investment Holdings (SSIH) over a 5-year period, but sadly their bankruptcy mid 2023 resulted in a massive turnaround. Fortunately Kevin and Judy were able to step back in and take back the reins. Tough times, but we are pleased to report we are large and in charge and ready for the next challenge.
2023 - Launching DTC Services and Academy
According to Western Cape premier, Alan Winde, tourism numbers arriving in the Cape for the Dec 2023 summer season were through the roof, with 215 direct flights arriving at Cape Town International Airport per week! Tourists all enjoy eating out at our wonderful restaurants and wineries, usually accompanied by our wonderful wines, and as a result, we are seeing good growth in the wine tourism sector.
In order to assist wineries in offering world-class service, wine.co.za has launched its DTC Academy, which offers hospitality training to help upskill staff in the tasting rooms, thus improving the experience for the visitor and helping the wineries to build long-term loyalty and sustainable direct-to-consumer experiences.
wine.co.za has always responded to the needs of the industry, what with starting the Bulk Wine Trading platform, WineTrader, and the wine tourism magazine WineScape.
What our clients say
The last few months have seen massive readership growth, with some of our articles being featured on Google feeds, resulting in huge spikes in views, so we must be doing something right!
We are proud to have partnered with many significant projects and organisations over the years who make a huge difference in our industry:
We are grateful to all our loyal customers, partners, and clients for your continued support. We look forward to the next 28 years!
Contact Judy Brower if you are interested in getting on board or finding out more: judy@wine.co.za | 076 011 0753 | 021 851 2737