Such has been the pace of change in the South African wine industry over the last 15 years - particularly in terms of the quality, consistency and diversity of wines being produced - it is perhaps not that surprising our retail shelves and restaurant wine lists have not fully caught up with what is going on there. But as the dust settles on last month’s bustling Cape Wine trade show, organised by Wines of South Africa, that saw hundreds of buyers from all over the world go and experience what South Africa has to offer, Richard Siddle analyses the huge opportunities the country still has to take its wines to another level. He also analyses the challenges it faces in convincing more retailers, wine merchants, sommeliers and suppliers to fully get behind the increasingly premium and higher quality wines it is producing. In the first of two in-depth reports he picks out the key themes, trends and takeaways from another breakthrough Cape Wine show.
It’s hard when you are in the cut and thrust of a wine exhibition to be able to fully assess what impact it will have when it’s over. But there was a moment during last month’s Cape Wine when I was able to stop and reflect on just what a unique trade event this is.
What other wine producing country in the world has the ambition to put on a three-day all-singing, all-dancing trade exhibition and open its doors to wine buyers from all over the world?
That‘s not to mention the near week long number of activities that take place either side of the fair with major generic and specialist tastings and dinners, be it for South Africa’s signature grape varieties, or to showcase its many wine regions.
What’s more this is not just a one off show. Cape Wine 2025 was remarkably its tenth edition.
I have been lucky enough to attend a good number of those over the last 15 plus years and been able to see first hand just how this country has grown up - particularly in the last decade - and blossomed and boomed into the powerful, confident wine producing country it is today.
It might still have plenty of issues and challenges to tackle - most notably over the viability of many its vineyards and growers - but this is a country used to living in adversity and crucially coming together to do what it can to overcome whatever barriers that are put in its way.
Collective spirit
It is that collective spirit that is the beating heart of South Africa. A togetherness that is hard for any other wine producing country to compete with.
Mention the name of one winemaker to another and the chances are they will have either made a wine, shared a braai, or even gone surfing together. They would certainly have travelled the world to stand alongside each other at tastings and trade events all with the mission of promoting "Brand South Africa”.
Which is why bringing the whole South African wine industry together at Cape Wine is such a powerful force to reckon with.
One that acclaimed winemaker, Eben Sadie, sums up perfectly, when he says: "The South African wine fraternity moves as a unit. The power of the collective in South Africa is intoxicating. But we must remember our roots, always, and just stay humble.”
Hal Wilson, managing director of Cambridge Wine Merchants and a long time supporter of South African wine who works with 30 different producers, gives his perspective: “There seems to be a unified purpose in South Africa, from government trade policy to quality orientation to social engagement, that you don’t find elsewhere in the world. Wine is promoted as a force for good in the country.”
It was noticeable how involved and engaged the recently appointed minister of agriculture, John Steenhuisen, was at both Cape Wine and a separate evening debate that The Buyer was able to host where he repeated his message that despite the industry’s difficulties, it is “more united than ever before” and the government was prepared to play its part in working in “partnership” with the country’s wine sector.
An industry that now supports close to 300,000 people and contributes 1% of the country’s GDP (worth SAR56 billion).
He says he was committed to working with the South African industry to help tell its “authentic” story better and “to turn excellence into opportunity”.
“We must lean into origin, terroir and story, and let the Cape speak in the glass,” he says. Brand South Africa deserves to be on the biggest international stage.”
World stage
Cape Wine is clearly South Africa’s stage to shine on when it comes to its place in the international wine industry. A time when all the personality, ambition and vision of its winemakers and producers can come to the fore.
It’s why wine buyers, importers, wine merchants and the press make the effort, every three years, to go to South Africa to see what it has been up to.
The one thing South African producers can’t control, however, is just what attitude those global wine buyers are coming to South Africa with. How in tune are they with what the current South African wine industry is all about? What are the prices they are expecting to pay for its wines?
Cape Wine is the chance for producers to make their case to the world, set out their stall, and make sure international buyers go home fully aware of what commercial opportunities there are for them and their businesses.
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