South Africa is riding a wave right now. Exports of Cape wine into the UK rose 12 per cent (by volume) last year. My initial thought was that this figure might just represent a recovery after a difficult 2020.
South African winemakers had a particularly tough pandemic, with periods when selling wine domestically was forbidden (if you thought your lockdown was tough, try doing it dry) plus stop-start bans on wine exports and difficulty shipping through the congested port once that was allowed. But no, South African wine exports to the UK also went up in 2020 – by seven per cent (again, by volume). We really are drinking more of it.
Even more interesting is what we are drinking. The data reveals a marked shift towards higher quality South African wines, with exports by value into the UK up 23 per cent and 20 per cent in 2020 and 2021 respectively. In other words, it’s not £5 discounted bottles from Asda that are powering the South Africa trend but wines at, let’s say (the data isn’t at all granular), £8-£12 and above.
‘I know from talking to independent merchants, which we do a lot, that South Africa is a country they feel offers really incredible value for money. You can buy the best of South Africa at relatively affordable prices,’ says Jo Wehring of Wines of South Africa.
Among the Cape’s vinous riches are glittering sauvignon blancs that taste of river rocks and cool citrus and are grown in places like Elgin, Constantia, Cape Town and Darling; syrah with a growl of black pepper and a precise, floral perfume; fluid pinot noir and crystalline chardonnay from the Hemel-en-Aarde that would satisfy a Burgundy drinker; Stellenbosch cabernet sauvignon; red Cape blends that combine merlot, cabernet sauvignon, pinotage and other grapes to create a satisfying wine with good structure and a smudge of meatiness; fragrant cinsault, a grape few others have championed and of course chenin blanc, South Africa’s flagship white.
