South Africa Wine Show: Quality and passion excites German trade  

Sunday, 4 September, Frankfurt, 10:00 am: the first trade visitors are already waiting patiently to starting their tasting marathon at the “Südafrika Weinshow”. The white wines are chilled, the reds are open, and the exhibitors are getting their presentation tables ready in the grand ballroom of the chic Radisson Blu Hotel. 

As in previous years, the South Africans are surprised to see the willingness of the German wine buyers to spend their ‘day off’ at a professional tasting. Nearly 400 professionals from the wine trade and the catering industry registered in advance for the show. Petra Mayer and Christine Hill, the German WOSA duo, are pleased with the strong response. Besides the opportunity to explore South African wine assortments and compare what’s on offer, the main attraction is that the winemakers are presenting their own wines, as Petra Mayer explains: “No one can better tell the story of a wine and spread the enthusiasm for South African wines than the producers themselves.” 

Germany is the second biggest export market for South African wines. In addition to the high proportion of bulk wines, about 18 million litres of bottled wines are also exported to Germany. The increase in value of almost 20 percent confirms the value growth potential of this wine market, which is increasingly open to premium wines from South Africa (SAWIS, August 2016). Petra Mayer: “Consumers that buy premium wines want to understand the value of this product, so they are looking for information and also wish to connect with the faces behind the bottles.” 

This generic tasting in Frankfurt on 4 September was more or less the kick-off for a South African tour of Europe. Many winemakers also held events with their importers before and after the show. They visited customers and organised numerous wine & dine events around Germany. Afterwards they headed off to England for the Intrepid Tasting organised by WOSA UK and numerous other wine events. Petra Mayer: “Measuring the success of a generic tasting by visitor numbers alone would be misleading. The entire build up to the main event as well as the large number of follow-up events, media reports, dialogues in social media and, not least, the chance for wine professionals to network amongst themselves, is an opportunity for South Africa’s winemakers to strengthen awareness and spread the appeal of their product.” 

The wide range of products on display at the South Africa Wine Show left many visitors astounded. In addition to the contact with the winemakers and the chance to taste the latest vintages, the visitors appreciated the themed tastings especially. There were six “wine trails” for visitors to explore at the show: Chenin Blanc, Red Blends, Pinotage, WIETA/Fairtrade, MCC, and New & Exciting. The new trends consisting of Old Vines, Orange, and Natural winemaking were moderated by B-vintner Gavin Slabbert. The visitors were impressed and maybe even a little irritated that these new styles of wines from the Cape rarely get served here in Germany. 

Also new were the winemaker sessions with short presentations by the likes of Gary Jordan, Anthony Hamilton Russell, and Kevin Arnold who presented some wines and spoke not just for themselves, but also presented the country and their colleagues. This loyalty, camaraderie and drive to take South Africa to the top of the wine league tables was palpable to all in attendance.   

“South African wines have changed indeed. Their complexity, the variety of new wine-growing regions, the joy in experimentation, and the passion of the winemakers are all something that you need to experience for yourself. Anyone who wasn’t here missed out on something great,” says Christina Fischer, sommelier and wine expert. The purchasing team of “Behind the Grapes” was blown away: “We visited many of our suppliers, renewed contacts, discovered new wines and have so much news to share with our customers in the store!” It was motivating to see how many visitors were impressed at the good organisation of the event and appreciated this opportunity to gather. Many of the guests stressed that there is often not enough time at events like ProWein to focus so extensively on the South Africans! All in all, there are many good reasons to repeat South Africa Wine Show and to make sure you are there in 2017.  

Pictures of the event is available on:  http://sa-weinshow.de/hochglanz/

- Petra Mayer, Wines of South Africa Germany – September 2016