Sydafrikanska Vinsalongen 2016, Operaterassen, Stockholm

  
It has been three years since Wines Of South Africa last hosted a tasting of South African wines in Stockholm. On the 9th of May we had 25 exhibitors present, one table of ‘New Wave’ wines, and wines from 81 producers in total available for tasting.
 
The day was a great success with one of the highest visitor numbers for a South African tasting, a total of 420 visitors (225 consumers) - higher than the number of visitors at the Australian tasting last year.
 
During the trade hours we saw 23 Systembolaget employees, including Johan Larsson and 41 journalists/media.
 
The feedback from the tasting was overwhelming and we can definitely see a growth in interest in South African wines. The most frequent comments were about the development in quality and the amount of new exciting brands in the Swedish market. One of the most popular tables was the ‘New Wave’ table which featured wines considered to be up-and-coming, interesting and quite often made by the younger generation of winemakers:
 
David & Nadia Sadie, Fram, Cape Rock Wines, Crystallum, Porseleinberg, Mount Abora, Rall, Silverwis, Elemental Bob, Radford Dale and B Vintners.
 
Feedback showed interest in the above producers and their wines in particular because of the natural winemaking techniques and unusual taste profiles.
 
During the day we also had our new ambassador H.E Ms. Faith Doreen Radebe visiting and she was truly impressed with the organisation of the tasting.
 

Sommelier Cup – Sweden 2016
 

The 9th May was also the Semi Final in Sweden for the 3rd WOSA Sommelier Cup. A member of the wine association Munskänkrna for over a decade, 48 year old Erik Grödahl was the winner and will go through to the final to be held in South Africa in September this year. 

He was a semi finalist in 2013, was part of the winning team at the 2014 Swedish Blindtasting Championships and now coaches the Munskänarnas team.

He is passionate about food and wine pairing and has visited South Africa twice before. He is very excited about his next visit, and the opportunity to learn more about our wines and producers. He has a lot of hard work ahead of him as he plans to spend at least two hours a day preparing for the finals. We wish him all the best for his preparation and his forthcoming trip.