Having caught first rate public transport, been ushered by a friendly and professional police force, sat in a world class stadium, witnessed a spectacular game of soccer in a stunning atmosphere, amongst amazingly friendly people and then exited into a clean, safe city for the mother of all after parties, I could be forgiven for wondering why our wine does not share this awesome reputation worldwide?
I mean, what I have described above has been going on almost every night in each of our cities for the past few weeks! This is not just some random coincidence, it is the result of vision, investment, planning, teamwork, execution mixed with doses of passion, belief and enthusiasm. A fair reflection of our nation's DNA, I would say and probably a fair reflection of the way people make wine in our country.
Which brings me to my point. Surely we should be positioning ourselves as a producer of outstanding wines, the same way we are positioning ourselves as a host of first class sporting events? We must now have a track record which is the envy of the planet - World Cups in soccer, rugby and cricket, all regarded as among of the best ever staged.
And yet the SA wine brand seems to be based on the concept of good value, or less flatteringly, price. Surely we should not be competing on price? The weak Rand should be seen as no more than a welcome surprise when it works in our favour, not as one of our top selling points. There is no question that many of our wines are comparable with the best in the world and they are improving consistently. The diversity of our winelands matches that of our people. We cannot be easily categorised and can excel across a variety of wines, both red and white.
How about a bold and brave marketing initiative, positioning our wines as some of the most exciting and accomplished in the world. And why the hell not, we are already regarded as a miracle. Why should our wine be any different?
I mean, what I have described above has been going on almost every night in each of our cities for the past few weeks! This is not just some random coincidence, it is the result of vision, investment, planning, teamwork, execution mixed with doses of passion, belief and enthusiasm. A fair reflection of our nation's DNA, I would say and probably a fair reflection of the way people make wine in our country.
Which brings me to my point. Surely we should be positioning ourselves as a producer of outstanding wines, the same way we are positioning ourselves as a host of first class sporting events? We must now have a track record which is the envy of the planet - World Cups in soccer, rugby and cricket, all regarded as among of the best ever staged.
And yet the SA wine brand seems to be based on the concept of good value, or less flatteringly, price. Surely we should not be competing on price? The weak Rand should be seen as no more than a welcome surprise when it works in our favour, not as one of our top selling points. There is no question that many of our wines are comparable with the best in the world and they are improving consistently. The diversity of our winelands matches that of our people. We cannot be easily categorised and can excel across a variety of wines, both red and white.
How about a bold and brave marketing initiative, positioning our wines as some of the most exciting and accomplished in the world. And why the hell not, we are already regarded as a miracle. Why should our wine be any different?
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