Wine Investment in South Africa - Cape Wine Academy

‘South Africa may not have as much depth as France when it comes to high-quality
producers, but those that we do have don’t have to stand back’ ( Eedes, 2011 ).
It might be inevitable that in an emerging fine wine market many wines are vying for top
honours and no wines automatically assume ‘Grand Cru’ honours. Different vintages bring
different results and it may be entirely healthy that Zonnebloem Limited Edition Sauvignon
Blanc 2007 gets a Double Gold at Veritas but just 4 stars from Wine Magazine or that Spier’s
Private Collection Pinotage 2004 wins the Trophy at the IWSC but only rates 4 stars in
Platter’s. Healthy, maybe, be not conducive to establishing icon wines.
Icon wines may not establish themselves, they rely on marketing, ratings and price. This is
why SA has no world icon wines; little marketing abroad, not enough overseas ratings and
too low a price ( den Dulk, May 2011 Appendix A). Any marketing in key countries such as
the UK has been for the commercial end of the market and has damaged chances of
establishing icon wines ( den Dulk, Ibid ). However, an analysis of just the last four years of
selected SA wines shows that quality is becoming recognised and consistent. Even five
years ago the best SA wines were ‘exceptionally classy’ ( Van Zyl, 2006 ).
8.2.8 Lack of consistency
Table 11 below shows selected successful wines in the Platter’s Wine Guide between 2004
and 2008 with other international ratings as a comparison. It reflects a pattern true for many
SA wines of investment potential and seems to challenge Eben Sadie’s main belief as to
why local wines do not feature on the world stage; lack of consistency.
Sadie feels strongly that Bordeaux, Burgundy and other top wine regions dominate
investment because of their track record. It is because they have consistently produced
quality wines ( despite occasional weak vintages ) and driven demand around the world,
not for twenty or thirty years, but for hundreds. Their wines have become brands suggesting
luxury and achievement. When one buys Lafite one is making a statement, buying a lifestyle
and that is a major driver in the Asian market, where the quality of wine served to guests is a
marker to how much esteem they are held in. Many purchases in Asia are made to reflect
prestige rather than any enjoyment of the actual wine. Sadie believes that “it takes twenty
years to make a great wine and it will take at least three generations to erase negative
opinions held of SA’s poor wines of the 70’s and 80’s.” He concludes;
“It will take another 20 years to achieve consistency and even then the world won’t
take us seriously” ( Sadie, 2011 Appendix H ).
58