It’s well known for its taste for international wines, but China’s domestic scene is growing too. In a different country, China’s wine industry might be a house of cards. But China’s government seems committed to it, and that makes all the difference. 

When a private Asian collector bid an eye-popping $558 000 for a single bottle of 1945 Romanée-Conti at Sotheby’s sale this past Saturday in New York, a world record was smashed. This was not just the highest price ever reached for a 750ml bottle of Burgundy, but also the highest for any bottle of wine ever at auction.

Every 3 years, WOSA arranges the biggest showcase of South African Wine to the wine trade.  Hundreds of international buyers, distributors, agents, media and wine professionals descend on the winelands to get a taste of what we have to offer.

This April the dam levels in the Western Cape slumped to a low of just 18% and South Africans were bracing themselves for Day Zero.

Good winter rains to date have largely broken the severe drought in the Western Cape. This positive outlook, linked to new plantings and new cultivars, brings the South African table grape industry back onto its positive growth curve. 

Bordeaux wine-makers are heading for a “great” vintage this year after an unusually warm growing season and exceptionally dry summer and harvest, according to Olivier Bernard, whose family owns Domaine de Chevalier in Pessac-Leognan south of the city.

China International Import Expo (CIIE) is seen as a great platform for South African wine merchants who are eager to increase their market share in China.

The minister of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF), Senzeni Zokwana signed the protocol to the 2007 World Wine Trade Agreement on the Requirements for Wine Labelling concerning alcohol tolerance, vintage, variety and wine regions – Protocol on Labelling – in Washington DC, United States of America (USA).

There is a growing trend in the drinks scene of South Africa that is focusing on alternatives to traditional alcoholic beverages.

South African fine wine is gaining momentum as an alternative investment class. Intrinsic wine quality is at an all-time high as the we enter a new era of industry-wide, quality-focused winemaking.

Wine industry representative body Vinpro expects 2019 wine grape crops will return to normal levels in most regions, owing to good rainfall after a three-year-long drought.

The South African wine industry expects, at this early stage, that the 2019 wine grape crop will return to normal levels in most regions, thanks to good rainfall hot on the heels of a three-year drought. The Klein Karoo, however, is still experiencing a serious water shortage.

From vine to wine, grapes undergo a remarkable transformation. But sometimes this makeover results in vino that doesn't taste quite right.

The Bonnievale Wines group and Wandsbeck Wines are to merge, creating a wine company with assets in excess of R300m. The amalgamation of the wineries in the Robertson region sees the formation of one of the Cape's biggest wine producers, to be known as Bonnievale Wine Cellar (Pty) Ltd.

It started by adding Rooibos wood chips to wine and a unique range of red wines was born. Audacia is now well established and known for their Rooibos Wooded ‘No Sulphur Added’ wines worldwide. They have a strong global following and in China the wines are even sold in pharmacies and promoted for their health qualities.

Over the next four years, the economic giant is predicted to overtake France and the United Kingdom to become the world's second-largest market for wine, behind the United States.

As the Festive season approaches, people are opening wine bottles in bars and restaurants and homes around the world, ready to kick back and relax.

A markup of up to 300% on wine is common practice in restaurants, but for the average diner it can feel like a ripoff. We spoke with some restaurant owners to better understand the logic behind high wine prices.

Wine is produced through the fermentation of grapes or fruit, and has a long and rich history dating back thousands of years. Vinification (the art of winemaking) starts with the selection of appropriate grapes or other ingredients, culminating in the bottling of the finished wine.

Speaking at the annual VinPro day in Cape Town yesterday (17 January), Smuts told around 900 representatives of the South African industry that “14% of our bulk white wine sells for under R4.50, while water sells between R5-R6.”