Wine Investment in South Africa - Cape Wine Academy
Wine Investment in South Africa - Cape Wine Academy
Wine Investment in South Africa - Cape Wine Academy
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w<strong>in</strong>es on release ( maybe some older v<strong>in</strong>tages ) that sell for more than R1,300 a bottle<br />
( exclud<strong>in</strong>g the recently released 2006 ‘The Bilton’ at R3,000 which only amounted to some<br />
30 cases and is unlikely to be repeated ) and most for much less. The most expensive –<br />
available - w<strong>in</strong>e is probably the ‘Rust en Vrede 1694’ at R1,200; about the same price as a<br />
1996 Bordeaux Third Growth Château Palmer. Once demand is established trad<strong>in</strong>g could<br />
easily push up the price of top w<strong>in</strong>es so that SA w<strong>in</strong>es fill the void <strong>in</strong> the middle sector of the<br />
market, offer<strong>in</strong>g excellent quality at prices well below established blue chip w<strong>in</strong>es. Pitch<strong>in</strong>g<br />
SA w<strong>in</strong>es at the lowest end of the price range is not where ‘brand SA’ want to be. Many<br />
believe that this area will provide some of the greatest ga<strong>in</strong>s <strong>in</strong> the future ( Albany Portfolio<br />
Management, 2010 ). To understand the value of SA w<strong>in</strong>es, consider the prices of current<br />
release icon w<strong>in</strong>es, exclud<strong>in</strong>g top Burgundy, Rhone and First Growth Bordeaux, with some<br />
top SA w<strong>in</strong>es, <strong>in</strong> Table 18 ( prices converted <strong>in</strong> April 2011 ).<br />
In most cases buy<strong>in</strong>g from the Estate will likely be cheaper ( refer to the w<strong>in</strong>ery price for<br />
Vega Sicilia <strong>in</strong> Chapter 4, 4.1, 1b ), for example Ken Forrester’s FMC Chen<strong>in</strong> Blanc is R260<br />
at the w<strong>in</strong>ery but R350 retail locally ( May 2011 ). SA w<strong>in</strong>es may seem expensive by SA<br />
standards, perhaps, but compared with <strong>in</strong>ternational icon w<strong>in</strong>es currently be<strong>in</strong>g traded quite<br />
a barga<strong>in</strong>; especially if one accepts a similar degree of quality. Andre van Rensberg<br />
remembers how sensational it appeared when his ‘V’ red w<strong>in</strong>e broke through the R550 retail<br />
barrier, describ<strong>in</strong>g it as,<br />
‘…a moonwalk…a small step for Vergelegen a giant leap for <strong>South</strong> <strong>Africa</strong>n w<strong>in</strong>e’<br />
( Van Rensberg, 2006 ).<br />
<strong>South</strong> <strong>Africa</strong>n f<strong>in</strong>e w<strong>in</strong>es can fill the void of high quality at low prices and could make<br />
creat<strong>in</strong>g a portfolio of exceptional w<strong>in</strong>es very price advantageous.<br />
Vergelegen Red# R390 Vega Sicilia (Spa<strong>in</strong> ) R1,950 *<br />
Kanonkop Paul Sauer R280 Sassicaia (Italy ) R1,100 **<br />
Meerlust Rubicon# R280 Harlan Cabernet (US ) R4,640 ***<br />
De Toren Fusion V R290 Scream<strong>in</strong>g Eagle (US) R8,285 ¹<br />
Warwick Trilogy# R290 Tignanello (Italy) R500**<br />
Sadie Columella# R660 Penfolds Grange ( Aus) R1,800²<br />
Waterford The Jem# R760 Tua Rita Redigaffi (Italy) R1,300**<br />
Kanonkop Black Lbl P<strong>in</strong>otage # R1,100 Schafer Hillside Select (US) R1,610³<br />
#Prices quoted from Cybercellar’s list * Four Walls <strong>W<strong>in</strong>e</strong> Co. UK ¹ Private Classified Co, US<br />
** Arvi, Switzerland ² Lea & Sandeman, UK<br />
*** Suburban <strong>W<strong>in</strong>e</strong>s US ³ <strong>W<strong>in</strong>e</strong>zap.com, US<br />
Table 18. A comparison of current release prices of selected icon w<strong>in</strong>es, April 2011.<br />
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