Wine Investment in South Africa - Cape Wine Academy

humidity is a problem for long term storage and they are expensive and will take up
considerable space for the serious investor. In Figure 3 above three typical examples are
shown; the Fuxin JG110 holds 110 bottles and costs R10,500 ($1,500), the Whirlpool
ARC2050 holds 88 bottles and costs R9,286 ($1,326) and the Artevino FV150G holds 150
bottles and costs R19,999 ($2,857). Eurocave UK’s popular range includes several cabinets
that hold up to 230 bottles and this size would make more sense for long term investment,
though this model costs R39,499 ($5,643) in South Africa. Better value might be the Artevino
FV270S, holding 270 bottles for R18,999 ( $2,714 at ‘Wine Essentials’ ). Prices need to be
factored in to potential profit returns. Future buyers would expect the wines in their original
boxes, though, so these need to be stored and some might expect the original sealed boxes,
which might prove difficult. As mentioned above, many homes are being built with cellars
but only at the top end of the market. It is possible to have a cellar, often built in a spiral
shape, dug beneath the floor of a garage, kitchen or spare room. A selection of styles and
the technique used is shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4. A selection from the Spiral Cellars UK catalogue of underground cellars. ©SC
This is common in Europe where one of the leading suppliers, Spiral Cellars, has installed
more than 3,000 in France and the UK since 1981. According to Spiral Cellar’s Lucy
Hargreaves, the most popular installation is a 2.25 metre cellar holding 1,360 bottles for
£25,500 inc VAT ( R280,500 ). It takes 5 to 9 days to fit. Spiral Cellar’s designs include a
1.35 metre mini version ( 650 bottles ) for £15,400 (R169,422) up to a 3 metre deep cellar
holding 1,870 bottles and costing from £30,718 (R336,798). They receive many enquiries
daily from all over Europe and are hoping to appoint an agent in South Africa soon
( Hargreaves, 2011 ). Brian Bennett offers a 14 part free ‘design your own cellar course’ via
his website homewinecellardesigns.com but it is not specifically for the South African market.
A minimum yearly recommended investment of £4500 (R50,000, Premier Vintners UK,
2011 ) would enable purchases of some eight cases of fine SA wine, or about 100 bottles.
The investor would need six or so years before profitable trading, meaning a cellar able to
hold around 600 bottles. This means a choice of, say, three large wine fridges costing
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