NAPLES WINE AUCTION LOT DONATED BY VILAFONTE

Enjoy a priceless, once-in-a-lifetime experience in South Africa, courtesy of long-time NWWF supporters and Past Honored Vintners, Shari & Garen Staglin, along with American winemaking legend Zelma Long and South African vintner Mike Ratcliffe.

Ten (10) days, nine (9) nights for two (2) couples for a dream South African wine safari

Round-trip, business class airfare for two (2) couples to Cape Town, South Africa and return from Johannesburg, South Africa

3 – 5 Liter bottles, presented in a specially designed wooden box with etched glass, the NWWF logo and other images signifying your South African adventure, including:

1 – 5 Liter 2007 Staglin Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

1 – 5 Liter 2007 Vilafonté Series C Proprietary Red Wine

1 – 5 Liter 2006 Warwick Estate Trilogy Proprietary Red Wine

DAY ONE—Cape Town

After your overnight flight from New York, check into your one-bedroom suites at the newest and most luxurious hotel in South Africa, the One&Only. Situated in the heart of the Cape Town waterfront, it is surrounded by all the energy and activity that has made Cape Town a true must-see destination. After you relax from your flight or take a quick stroll, get ready for a fabulous dinner at Chef Gordon Ramsay’s chic new restaurant, Maze...his first in Africa.

DAYS TWO & THREE—Cape Town & Cape Point

Each morning, you will be greeted by your own personal tour guide and driver who will take you on a full day of touring. Over the next few days you will experience Cape Town at its most exciting. First stop? The top of famous Table Mountain; where you can see the city, the harbor and the entire peninsula down to Cape Point. Your guide will also take you to all the top tourist destinations including, the National Gallery, the South African Museum, the Houses of Parliament, the penguin colony in Simonstown and a glass bottom boat to the seal colony. You’ll even take a drive down the coast to the fishing hamlet of Kalk Bay and its many antique shops, continuing down to the Cape of Good Hope. As you stand on the most south westerly point of Southern Africa, you will see some of the most dramatic landscapes on the planet.

DAY FOUR—Cape Town & Hermanus

Today, your guide will take you through the Elgin wine and fruit growing region on your way to Hermanus; a charming coastal town set between mountains and the Atlantic Ocean. Nature lovers from all over the world come here to watch the Southern Right Whale from these cliffs. Several of the country’s top wine estates are also nearby and at South Africa’s premier Pinot Noir producer Hamilton Russel Vineyards, you’ll be hosted by proprietor Anthony Hamilton Russel for an in-depth tour and barrel tasting. Upon your return to One&Only, dinner will be waiting at Chef Nobu Matsuhisa’s African version of his acclaimed eponymous restaurant, Nobu.

DAY FIVE—The Winelands & the Grande Provence Owners Cottage

Once you have been bewitched by the majesty of Cape Town, you will be whisked the short distance to the South African wine lands where you will reside in luxury and be personally escorted through this spectacular wine region. Your home these next two nights - the Owner’s Cottage at Grande Provence, named by Harper’s Bazaar as one of the “10 Most Fabulous Villas in the World.” The property is a 300-year old wine and fruit estate nestled in the magnificent Franschhoek Valley. Dine at the Grand Provence Restaurant and visit the cellar where years of great winemaking heritage comes to life.

DAY SIX—Vilafonté Vineyard & Stellenbosch

That morning, your driver will take you to the Vilafonté Vineyard in Stellenbosch where you’ll meet South African Mike Ratcliffe and Californian Zelma Long, partners in the world’s only South African–American luxury winemaking joint venture. Vilafonté is the only South African winery to have been nominated by The Wine Enthusiast for ‘New World Winery of the Year.’ You’ll experience a vertical tasting of the Vilafonté Series M and Series C wines and learn about the most cutting-edge developments in South African winemaking. Lunch with the Vilafonté team at the winery’s Italian bistro, Pane e Vino and after a rest in their guest house, Mike and his wife Pip will host a traditional South African braai (barbecue) at Warwick Wine Estate, their family-owned winery. Significant milestone wines from the past 40 years will be opened to celebrate the evening. Return to Grande Provence for one last night.

DAYS SEVEN TO TEN—On Safari at Singita Sweni

After a fond farewell to the luxurious Grande Provence, you will be off to your next adventure! Fly to Singita Sweni; the most intimate of the renowned Singita lodges. Set amidst the foliage of the Sweni River in the Kruger National Park game reserve, there are just six riverside suites, with floor-to-ceiling windows, luxurious bathrooms and an expansive living area. A private deck over the water’s edge is an idyllic spot for drinks or to curl up with a book. A typical day at Singita starts as guests congregate with the rangers at the main lodge for tea, coffee and light snacks in anticipation of the early morning game drive. Who knows what to expect? Maybe a leopard in the branches of a tree with a kill, a herd of elephants, or an impala may dart right in front of your Land Rover. A spectacular breakfast will follow your return. Spend the morning indulging in a massage or beauty treatment at the spa, shopping or simply relaxing on your sundeck.

After lunch, take a walking safari, followed by afternoon refreshments in the main lodge. The exciting evening drive is the apex of your African adventure. Imagine watching the sun set over the horizon while you witness a pride of lions stalking their prey or buffalo strolling to a water hole…each an unforgettable wildlife experience. Upon your return, the fires are lit and the night's entertainment begins. Have dinner around the fire in the Boma under the stars or a gourmet meal by candlelight in the dining room. Then…retire to your suite for a restful night’s sleep in preparation for the next exciting day!

Upon your return home and into reality, the crème de la crème of wines from Staglin Family Vineyard, Vilafonté and Warwick Estate, presented in a keepsake box, will be a wonderful reminder of this dream of a trip.

Yes…dream of Africa...but with one magnanimous bid…live your dream.

Insider's Info: Trip to be taken on mutually agreeable dates March 1–December 1, 2010, excluding June 1-30, 2010 during the FIFA World Cup. All airfare and ground transportation within South Africa are included. Flights within South Africa will be a combination of commercial and charter. All breakfasts at all accommodations are included. At One&Only, dinner at Nobu and dinner at Maze are included. At Grande Provence, dinner is included, as well as the lunch and dinner with Mike Ratcliffe. At Singita, all meals, two daily game drives, walking safaris and premium wines & spirits are included. Additional meals and activities outside of those listed are not included.

Donor: Garen and Shari Staglin of Staglin Family Vineyard

Additional Donors: Zelma Long and Mike Ratcliffe of Vilafonté, Neil Ratcliffe of Southern Destinations, The One&Only Hotels, The Huka Retreats and Singita Private Game Reserve

 

_______________________________________________________________

Mike Ratcliffe

 

 Phone:          +27 (0) 21 88 444 10

 Warwick:     www.warwickwine.com

 Vilafonte:     www.vilafonte.com

 Faraway:       www.farawaywines.com

 Follow me on Twitter - click here

 Review the Warwick Gourmet Picnic - click here

 

 

 

To live & die in Copenhagen - the damage - good night!

Mike Ratcliffe
Warwick Estate & Vilafonte
P.O.Box 2 Elsenburg, 7607, South Africa

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER www.twitter.com/mikeratcliffe

a picture of me disembarking from airplane in a raging blizzard in Copenhagen

Mike Ratcliffe
Warwick Estate & Vilafonte
P.O.Box 2 Elsenburg, 7607, South Africa

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER www.twitter.com/mikeratcliffe

20cm of snow in Stockholm today - the things we do for wine marketing!

Mike Ratcliffe
Warwick Estate & Vilafonte
P.O.Box 2 Elsenburg, 7607, South Africa

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER www.twitter.com/mikeratcliffe

Vilafonte, Mouton Rothschild & Warwick 2004

Mike Ratcliffe
Warwick Estate & Vilafonte
P.O.Box 2 Elsenburg, 7607, South Africa

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER www.twitter.com/mikeratcliffe

Join the 'Boozy Bloggers Picnic'

Dear Boozy Bloggers,

I am ashamed that it has been almost 2 years since our last ‘Bloggers braai’.

A few of us locals felt that it was time to start the ball rolling again in 2010 – and keep it going.

 

Please join us for the second annual (yes, annual) ‘Boozy Bloggers Picnic’ prepared by celebrity guru-Chef Bruce Robertson.

 

When:	Sunday 20th February 2010
Time:	13h00 – whenever
Where:	Warwick Wine Estate map
Bring:	Your whole family – very kid friendly
Cost:	Adults gourmet picnic (half price for today) – R75 pp, Kiddies picnic - R45 Wines less 20% on the day
RSVP	click HERE for online reservations Or email Elzanne de Klerk visit@warwickwine.com   Or call 021 8843144

 

We will also be running our ‘BIG 5 WINE SAFARI’ all day to add that finishing touch to  a perfect day. 

PLEASE CIRCULATE TO SELECTED LIKE-MINDED FOLK

Mike

 

Ps Wifi available if you absolutely can’t live without it.

 

 

Our picnics get some good press in the Financial Mail

 

 

_______________________________________________________________

Mike Ratcliffe

 

 Phone:          +27 (0) 21 88 444 10

 Warwick:     www.warwickwine.com

 Vilafonte:     www.vilafonte.com

 Faraway:       www.farawaywines.com

 Twitter:        www.twitter.com/mikeratcliffe

 

 

 

 

Warwick Picnics get some good publicity

 

another image of the new Warwick 'Picnic Pod' - designer lazing

 

Check this out - the Warwick 'Picnic Pods' in all their glory

 

The Wine World in 2010: What to Expect

High unemployment, pared-down expense accounts and a glut of wine mean that in 2010 consumers will find lower prices and better selection

Not since the millennium folly in 1999 have I seen so much frenzy in the wine market. Back then, with stock markets booming, auction houses setting records for wines and Champagne producers warning there wouldn't be enough fizz for the celebration, producers were enthusiastic and bottles were getting pricier by the month.
What a difference a decade makes. With high unemployment, pared-down expense accounts and a glut of wine, it's the consumer's turn to make merry, with lower prices, more choice and less pretension. Those 99-point ratings don't seem quite so requisite any more to buying good wine.
So what do I see happening in 2010?

1. Prices will continue to drop across the board, from the priciest of Bordeaux and Burgundy to cult California wines that were once available only by subscription. This goes, too, for those Italian, Spanish and Chilean producers who thought that they could easily get the same kind of money those age-old French estates used to command.

2. More people will buy online. Consumers can go to sites like wine-searcher.com or vinfolio.com and compare prices for the same wine not just around the U.S., where many states now allow cross-state shipping, but in the U.K., Germany, and other countries. The spread can be amazing: a wine costing $40 in one store may be $75 in another. Wine stores will stock more inexpensive wines, which account for most of their profits.

3. Wine blogging will increase, mostly among those contending they've found spectacular bottles that will "blow your doors off" for under $15 a bottle. As with all blogging, readers should be wary of the source of such claims.

4. California, alas, will fail to back away from big, high alcohol, oaky reds and whites, because the producers believe that is the style most Americans prefer over subtlety and complexity. The problem is that cheaper wines of this style are so often dreadful, out of balance and undrinkable after one glass. California wineries talk a good game about finesse, but then they overripen their grapes and stick them in new oak for too long.

5. The tsunami of new wines from South America and Eastern Europe will ebb as the market overflows. Greek, Portuguese, and Brazilian wines have had good press in recent years, but unless they keep prices down, they won't make much headway.

6. New Zealand wineries will be in trouble. The country's recent prodigious harvests have glutted the market for their overly fruity punch-like style, and many fans want to move up in quality.

7. Champagne will be in serious trouble. It's not just that prices have gotten way out of whack, with too many selling above $100 a bottle, but other sparkling-wine producers have been canny about getting their bubblies well-positioned, well-priced and well-reviewed. Champagne is reducing output and holding back product already bottled to get some balance, but it's going to be a struggle to win revelers back from Italian prosecco, Californian sparklers and Spanish cavas. There are just too many Champagne labels out there.

8. Fine-dining restaurants will buy nominal numbers of expensive wines after trimmed expense accounts caused them to sit on their previous big capital purchases. They'll wait until guests are telling sommeliers, "Money is no object." Good luck with that. Fewer top-end restaurants will even open, and more modest new eateries will build wine lists with interesting, small labels from around the world and sell them at reasonable mark-ups.

9. More producers will switch to screwtops from cork stoppers in an effort to stem damage to the wines in the bottle from corkiness and oxidation as well as to make wine more accessible to the average consumer. The dirty secret is that most winemakers I talk to say they'd love to switch to screwcaps but fear buyers will think them cheap! Very dumb.

10. Americans will buy more wine at the $10-and-under level. The best bet for an expanding market is China, which is thirsty for good, inexpensive wine. And, like everything else, they'll soon be producing that themselves.

Review by John Mariani (Bloomberg)


Mike Ratcliffe
Warwick Estate & Vilafonte
P.O.Box 2 Elsenburg, 7607, South Africa

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER www.twitter.com/mikeratcliffe

Simonsberg: Mountain of Women - Blog by Neil Pendock

"A mountain of tedious pretention" is not the comment of a dyspeptic wine critic on the attempts of the Simonsberg ward of Stellenbosch to promote itself as the heart of fine winemaking in SA (which it is), but rather a French review of Federico Fellini's La città delle donne (City of Women) at the 33rd Cannes Film Festival in 1980, immortalized in Wikipedia. "Simon\"s Mountain: a mountain of women"][/caption] In spite of being named after Governor of the Cape Simon van der Stel (urban legend insists it looks like a rather fat Si lying on his back after a couple of bottles of Tassenberg) the Simonsberg is Ground Zero for the feminine imperative in SA winemaking as it is home to a trio of Amazons: May-Eliane de Lencquesaing, Norma Ratcliffe and Anne Cointreau. One of the pioneers of SA wine, Ansela van de Caab, farmed on the Simonsberg and made wine at Muratie at the end of the 17th century. But naming the mountain after Simon's wife Constance wouldn't have worked as it would have caused confusion with that other bastion of female winemaking – the Constantia Valley – and complaints from Catherina Ustings (rumoured mistress of Si) at Steenberg. Although it would have been fun watching today's crop of Stellenbosch marketers try to deal with producers located on a Conberg. The internationally best known Simonsberg She is May, octogenarian former châtelaine of super second growth Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, somewhat more prosaically referred to as madam hier langsaan (madam next door) by the volk (farm labourers) of Ida's Valley. May cashed in at the top of the last economic cycle, selling a majority interest in her Bordeaux estates to the Rouzaud family of Louis Roederer fame, purveyors of Cristal bubbly to gangs of rap artistes. May bought a 123ha farm (310ha according to Wine Spectator magazine, confusing their hectares with acres) Glenelly in 2003, next door to South African wine royalty, Simon Barlow at Rustenberg. Although Glenelly may sound like a single malt whisky, the mountainous nature of the terrain makes the establishment of a golf links most unlikely, as does 60ha (57ha according to the Platter sighted wine guide) of immaculate vineyards laid out by Pichon enologist Thomas Do-Chi-Nam "after a precise terroir study". Besides, May looked more polo-style plutocrat then golf grandee as she sat on the first floor stoep (verandah) of her all-singing, all-dancing cellar on her first open day, the day after Bastille Day, when the Good Value Guru and I stopped by. The brash, bold winery ("contemporary" according to the French Chamber of Commerce website) was designed by a team of four architects: two Swiss, one French and one local. Which may sound like the start of a joke but the chunky concept matches the mountains in a Le Corbusier-kind of way while the acres of glass windows provide excellent vignettes onto Ida's Valley cowering below the behemoth. "Wait until the trees grow" apologized May "we're in winter now." Three vintages of a red blend Glenelly Hill were shown to the steady stream of lookie-loos who had accepted Madame's public invitation to get up close and personal with her winery: '03, '04 and '06 all made from bought-in grapes at controversial Johannesburg financial mogul Dave King's Quoin Rock cellar further along the Simonsberg. Our favourite was the '06 while a cellar tour revealed several stainless steel tanks full of '09 with barrels of '08 maturing quietly on level -2. Next to a set from the movie Cocoon - May's blue lit back-to-the-future private cellar – racks of Ch. Pichon on the left, local stocks (Beyerskloof a favourite) on the right. Our pourer related that '08 will be the first vintage produced from grapes grown exclusively on the farm. Expect a variation on a traditional Bordeaux theme of Cabernet and Merlot as there was Shiraz in the '04 and even Pinotage in '03. Winemaker Luke O'Cuinneagain reports he is especially convinced by Petit Verdot and has persuaded Madame to release a small quantity (2000 bottles) separately. An industrial stainless steel lift servicing three floors gives the winery the feel of a high-tech hospital, although a profusion of local art by 25-year old Cape Town artist Vicky Sanders does chirp up the fearsomely functional cellar nearly as much as the designer blue chemise worn by winemaker Cool-Hand Luke, which matches his laser blue eyes, to a T. Not all the art is local: medieval French tapestries, glass sculptures, colour-field blobs and colourful cartoons of hometown Bordeaux give the facility an eclectic air. May's art collection continues the popular tradition of Tasting Room as Trojan Horse for farts (Fine Art). The fart galleries of Woodstock (Linda Goodman owned by latter day Lorenzo the Magnificent Jonathan Beare, Brendan Bell-Roberts, Michael Stevenson et. al) are hopelessly too grob for monied art lovers and the wine served at their openings is usually dire dora indeed. But then May herself does look like Peggy Guggenheim in red, albeit with a more elegant nose. On the local scene, the best known lady of wine is the pioneer of Warwick, Canadian-born Norma, who celebrated a quarter of a century making the stuff at the Vineyard Hotel in Claremont earlier this year. The venue was most appropriate as the hotel started out as the country home of Lady Anne Barnard, one of the heroic pioneer ladies of the Cape. Her 18th century vineyard has been revived along the stream at the bottom of the hotel's lush lawns and made the venue doubly suitable. As an aside, I was surprised to note that LAB was a pioneer of interior design. The wonderful Aesthete's Lament blog reports that "Lady Anne Barnard … and her sister [Lady Margaret Fordyce, later Lady Lamb] broke all the rules when they actually started their own 'business' [out of their shared Adam-style house at 21 Berkeley Square, London]. Short of money and with a natural talent for interior decoration, they took to buying or renting houses, doing them up, and letting them furnished for a considerable profit. One or two people had the bravery to see that this was an excellent idea, but others took the view of the lady who complained that 'she wished to God those two very agreeable women would leave off being upholsterers and begin to be women of fashion [again].'" Norma was MC'd by her son Warwick MD Mike who held up a bottle of her maiden vintage noting "the only thing wrong with this wine is that we misspelled the name." But then I can never remember whether her surname is Ratcliff or Ratcliffe and always have to check. The wine in question was La Femme Bleu, a 1984 vintage Cabernet Sauvignon. Norma has always been in the vanguard of wine fashion and the spelling mistake, like printing errors on stamps, makes her wine and its label all the more collectable. Of course if they'd called it La Femme en Bleu, the bleu wouldn't have needed a trailing "e" as Picasso noted when he painted La Femme en Bleu au Beret a century ago. His great rival Matisse did a Femme Bleue although there's much more than an "e" difference between the two paintings. Norma's first vintage was actually a decade earlier. "In 1974 we copied Rustenberg and made a Cinsault/Cabernet blend. The wine was stunning but we decided to go the Bordeaux route and the 1984 Femme Bleu was aged in 100% new French oak at the exorbitant price of R184 a barrel." When I asked my neighbour Adi Badenhorst, former winemaker at Rustenberg, what I should re-plant on Lemoenfontein (my Paardeberg conflict of interest - not!) quick as a flash he answered "Cinsault". Colour coded ladies were much on the mind of another artist, Denton Welch, in Maiden Voyage (Reader's Union, 1945). Recalling the Shanghai nightclubs of his youth a century ago, he remembered "a middle-aged woman dressed all in green. On the table in front of her stood a glass of crème de menthe and she held a green cigarette between her lips." He commented on her to his beefy dancing partner, who replied "Isn't she killing! I've seen her here in red velvet, sipping cherry brandy and smoking a rose-coloured cigarette. Tonight she's all in green. She always has everything to match." "What does she drink when she wants to go blue?" "I don't know, unless it's methylated spirits!" Norma follows in the illustrious footsteps of another Simonsberg She: Ansela. A freed slave, Ansela was wife to 17th century Prussian immigrant Lourens Campher who was granted een zeker stuk land genaamd De Driesprong gelegen onder de Stellenbosch in 1699 by governor Willem Adriaan van der Stel, son of Si. Today De Driesprong is called Muratie, a corruption of murasie or ruin, referring to Ansela's original single room house, an annex to a stable and chicken run and one of the oldest buildings in Stellenbosch. "The horses had the best accommodation" explains present incumbent Muratie matriarch Annatjie Melck, "as they were the most important." The most recent bee in Annatjie's bonnet is restoring Ansela's original homestead. The plan calls for the preservation of the cobbled floor, fireplace and wooden ceiling with the odd Persian carpet added for a splash of luxury and colour. Original mud brickwork to be exposed and the external integrity of the structure faithfully preserved. Restoring the historic house of Ansela after three centuries is architectural karma and another memorial for a unique lady who is commemorated in the estate's flagship blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. SA takes its women winemakers so seriously, there is even a Landbouweekblad SA Woman Winemaker of the Year Competition. The 2009 verylongnamedcompetition award went to Ntsiki Biyela, winemaker at Stellakaya who operates from a winery at Bosman's Crossing in the shadow of the Simonsberg. First prize in the competition is "a pamper package from the Lanzerac Wellness Centre and Spa to the value of R1000" which may just be enough to send feminist blood pressure off the scale, but then the winner also does receive "an all expenses paid trip to the winemaking region of Bordeaux, valued at R30 000." If Ntsiki times it well, she can visit May at Pichon with a side trip up to champagne, to Gosset, one of the oldest houses, owned by the family of Anne whose day job is running her Morgenhof estate on the Simonsberg. Morgenhof is a fairytale venue for weddings while its Fantail range of value-for-money wines are some of the best deals in town.


Mike Ratcliffe
Warwick Estate & Vilafonte
P.O.Box 2 Elsenburg, 7607, South Africa

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER www.twitter.com/mikeratcliffe

The Warwick picnic team having their 2nd lecture on recycling & waste management

Mike Ratcliffe
Warwick Estate & Vilafonte
P.O.Box 2 Elsenburg, 7607, South Africa

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER www.twitter.com/mikeratcliffe

First panoramic pictures of the new Warwick Wine Estate Picnic facility, deli & private dining room

 

Some pictures of our new Warwick Estate 'Gourmet Picnic' that launched yesterday

Warwick's first Landrover just arrived for the 'Big 5 Wine Safari' - we launch next week

Mike Ratcliffe
Warwick Estate & Vilafonte
P.O.Box 2 Elsenburg, 7607, South Africa

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER www.twitter.com/mikeratcliffe

WARWICK'S GOURMET PICNIC & BIG 5 WINE SAFARI - 3 WEEKS TO GO

        

 

 

 

 

 

WEBSITE LAUNCHES NEXT WEEK

MORE INFO COMING SOON

Platter 2010 Warwick - well done everyone

 

MARKETING REFLECTS CHANGING DEMAND OF NAPA VALLEY WINE

More than a year into the economic downturn, Napa Valley vintners are looking toward the future. “I think that we’re already starting to see a little bit of a turnaround as far as wine sales go,” St. Helena winery owner Kent Rasmussen said. Wine drinkers are buying more readily than they did a few months ago, he said, and retailers and restaurateurs are finally stocking up again. During the second quarter of 2009 — the last quarter for which information on sales tax revenue is available — winery sales in Napa County actually rose 3.9 percent over the second quarter of 2008. Spring 2008 was about the time that wine sales in Napa County first started to slip. Now, vintners are waiting on the holidays, when the bulk of their wine is sold, to see if there’s reason to be optimistic. “The fourth quarter is when the thing really crashed last year, so you better see a darn good increase this year, because a good portion of our production is sold during the holidays,” said Jack Cakebread, owner of Cakebread Cellars in Rutherford. “This is sort of the crunch time,” Napa Valley Vintners spokesman Terry Hall said, “because the fourth quarter really is the most active sales period for wine.”

 

The new ‘normal’

Regardless of how things go this winter, some say the Napa Valley wine industry may have changed forever. “I don’t think it can go back to normal,” Calistoga winery owner Laura Zahtila said. “I think we’ll have a new normal.” New Jersey wine merchant Gary Fisch agrees. “It will never be like it was,” he said, “and boy, did I like what it was.” Deborah Steinthal, founder of Napa-based Scion Advisors, predicts that $75 wines will move down permanently to $50, and Napa Valley wineries will be forced to reconsider their luxury-only portfolios. “I think we’ve got about three to five years to redefine our position in the world of wine,” she said, “and that means not just in terms of proving we can sell as much wine in the categories we’ve been selling in the past.” Ultra-premium wine producers could have an especially hard time if wine buyers permanently tighten their belts. “I think there’s going to be a lot less cult cab out there,” Zahtila said. “I think that wineries need to get realistic about what people should be and are willing to pay for their wine.” Bill Harlan, whose Harlan Estates wines go for up to $500 a bottle online, said he expects a shakeout in the next three to five years among cult wine producers, but he adds that those who survive will come out even stronger.

“I feel that if we stay the course and continue to work on producing better and better wines and build relationships one-by-one, then things will come back,” he said. Relationships may be the key to success, according to industry officials. As people change the way they buy wine, and as distributors change the way they sell it, wineries are beginning to focus more on selling directly to consumers than relying on other retail channels. “National distribution makes sense for some wineries, but direct is more critical to survival and growth,” Steinthal said. This may mean a new approach to marketing, one that emphasizes personal relationships with consumers. “If we just keep doing things as we have done in the past and hope things will eventually come around to the way they were 10 or 20 years ago, I think many businesses will be sadly surprised at the outcome,” said Ed Matovcik, vice president of Foster’s Wine Estates, and one of a group of wine industry representatives lobbying for fewer restrictions on local winery marketing events. Winemaker Mike Grgich said he believes that Napa Valley is entering “a new chapter of the wine industry.” “We can learn from this,” he said, “(but) we have to work hard and smart and learn new ways of marketing.” Some vintners say this means more than just changing their marketing techniques, it means changing to whom they market.

The younger generation.

Especially as Baby Boomers retire and cut back on their wine purchases, some wineries are starting to focus marketing efforts on the younger generation of wine buyers, including those born approximately from 1980 to 2000, known as the “millennials.” “The millennial category is really stepping up,” Steinthal said, “and wineries are learning how to market to millennials. Folks are really thinking through how to leverage the next generation of their family with a new category of customers, a new generation of customers.” Ceja Vineyards, for example, is one of the few wineries in Napa County that is actually expanding right now, and winery president Amelia Ceja attributes its success in large part to her children. “I have three children in their early 20s and they’re big on all the new technology and on the Internet,” Ceja said, “so that has been extremely helpful. We don’t do a lot of advertising, but our presence on online social sites has helped. We do a lot of videos and marketing on Facebook and Twitter.” Ceja said she and her children spend about an hour a day using Web 2.0 tools and social networking sites to market their wines. “It’s knowing what the customer wants and how to capture that customer’s attention,” she said, “and people are attracted to the millennials.” Ultimately, those who are quick to adapt may actually come out stronger than they were before the economic downturn. “In any kind of downtime, the industry gets stronger,” Steinthal said. “The innovators really show up, and so unfortunately, it means some folks drop out, but for the long-term health of the industry, the strong get stronger. Fisch agrees. “We’re entering a new economic age, and the people that can change and adjust will thrive,” he said. “The people that stick their head in the sand and say, ‘This is the way we’ve always done it and this is the way it will continue,’ I think will have challenges.”

Ken Forrester at the WOSA USA conference

Mike Ratcliffe
Warwick Estate & Vilafonte
P.O.Box 2 Elsenburg, 7607, South Africa

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER www.twitter.com/mikeratcliffe

ROOTSTOCK: IS THE GRASS GREENER ON THE OTHER SIDE?

Rootstock invites you to our last event of 2009. We explore GREEN ISSUES in the winelands, viz Organic , Biodynamic , Bio-logic  and Carbon Neutral . Join us to hear from our panel of producers how they are applying their approaches, and what they are doing to make a difference to our environment. Participate in the panel discussion which will ensue. We encourage active debate from all present. We can all learn from their experiences, and invite you to ask questions, in fact if you would like to email questions to us before the event - we will pass them on to the speakers. Emails to info@rootstock.co.za. Our panel consists of:

• Michael Back from Backsberg on their Carbon Neutral work
• Michelle du Preez from Bon Cap on their organic production
• Johnathan Grieve from Avondale on their Bio-Logic approach
• Johan Reyneke from Reyneke Wines on his Biodynamic approach.

If you would like to contribute to the discussion - feel free to participate after they have made their 10 minute presentations.

• How do these approaches differ? How are they the same?
• What impact are they making on their environment?
• What impact are we making on the environment but not adopting similar approaches?

Bookings are essential through http://www.rootstock.co.za/ ONLINE only. You need to register with Rootstock to attend. Rootstock membership is free - but you pay for events attended.

• Date: TUES 24th NOV 2009
• Time: 5.30pm for 6pm start until about 8.30pm
• Venue: Backsberg Estate (thanks to them for making their venue available and providing wines)
• Cost: R50 (to cover snacks) - bring cash with you

If you book and do not attend - you will still be invoiced accordingly. For any urgent matters please contact Judy Brower on 083 301 8569 or email info@rootstock.co.za

here are some pictures of one of our concept 'Picnic Pods' at Warwick!

Look at this- 3 metre Warwick Wedding Cup under construction for new Gourmet Picnic Project

 

Warwick 'Black Lady' Syrah label printing - at the press

Mike Ratcliffe
Warwick Estate & Vilafonte
P.O.Box 2 Elsenburg, 7607, South Africa

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER www.twitter.com/mikeratcliffe

Back in your wine box, elitist critic

The letter, Quality wine in a box (September 21), highlights much of what is wrong with the wine industry. We hear of wine lakes on the one hand yet the price of wine continues its steady climb. Wine farmers plead poverty, and yet we are continuously presented with pictures of the great and the good unashamedly enjoying the life of Riley. Your wine columnist continues to opine in his quaint, elitist style, as if anyone who can’t afford a bottle at R150, or was it R1500-plus, is beneath him. Many wine writers give the impression that nothing below a certain price point will ever contaminate their nostrils, let alone their lips. Let’s get real here. Between boxed “carafe quality” and auction wines there is a whole array of, shall I call them “sumptuous, luscious, mouth- filling, affordable wines”? SA is truly blessed. Travel to Europe or the US at the moment. Many retailers are fighting for survival in these difficult times. While often avoiding discounting of brands, a marketing no-no, they are putting together “special offers”, co-branded deals, BOGOFs (buy one or two, get one free), and trying to maintain their relationship with their consumers by delivering value at affordable prices. Marketers should know that relationships that survive difficult times are potentially even better in the good times. Nothing wrong in trading down. Values such as trust, integrity and transparency are never to be taken for granted. Apart from the Sunday Times wine fundi, who has the confidence and knowledge to recommend wines from as little as R25 a bottle, most of the other writers deserve to be put back in their elitist boxes. If the wine industry wants to maintain, let alone grow, its “share of throat”, it will need to change.

Jeremy Sampson

 

My last English pub lunch - beef pie, oysters and Guiness. Goodbye England.

Mike Ratcliffe
Warwick Estate & Vilafonte
P.O.Box 2 Elsenburg, 7607, South Africa

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER www.twitter.com/mikeratcliffe

Is South Africa about to adjust it's positioning?

WINE.CO.ZA readers receive daily (sporadic) blog postings from the UK. Occasional contributor Mike Ratcliffe, the MD of Warwick Wine Estate and the American joint venture winery, Vilafonte, sends live updates and photos of what's hot and happening at the this year's Mega Tasting punctuated with personal observation and irreverent thoughts. This posting was written on the high-speed Virgin train between London and Glasgow - via wifi. Follow Mike on Twitter www.twitter.com/mikeratcliffe

The second day at the WOSA Mega-tasting was kind of like the first day, except that it was 24 hours later and I was feeling that much more exhausted. There was nothing of particular excitement to report in the sense that we were not surprised by a visit from Nelson Mandela or Robert Parker. The visitor numbers appeared to be higher and there was a general buzz around the room as everyone went about their business of sniffing, swirling and spitting. Again the lack of presence from all but actual wine buyers and journos was a disappointment as the mega-tasting is an excellent opportunity for everyone from MW students to waiters and budding sommeliers to have a one-stop shop for SA wine. While the coordination, presentation and winery attendance at the show were impressive, one cannot help but ask if a one-day show would have had the same impact. It is understandable that it is not always convenient to attend on a particular day, but with the exceptional lead times and forward planning you would think that the trade would be able to organise themselves. The problem with giving people too many options is that they tend to exercise them.

From a personal point of view, the event was well worth the time and investment and I feel satisfied that it would be very difficult to replicate the excellent face-time and new business that I achieved as a solo operator. Perhaps the brains-trust that organise the event could think of some way to further differentiate this event. Perhaps an indoor football tournament of SA wine producers and UK wine hacks would have added an element of fun to the sometimes sombre proceedings? But then again, this is a wine trade show in London and an element of formality is to be expected.

While the days have been focused on trade interactions, I have now spent three nights on the trot immersing myself in consumer tastings. In excess of 900 ordinary consumers pitched up for the three events in London and Glasgow and the incredible enthusiasm and support for SA wines warmed the heart of even the most jaded globe-trotting wino.

‘I had no idea that SA wines are so good.’

‘These wines present incredible value and knock the spots off the French’,

‘South African wines just keep getting better’

These were some of the typical comments heard over and again at the consumer tastings. So lets analyse, just for a second, the fact that the trade are the ‘gate-keepers’ for South African wine into the UK and there is no surprise that price and potential margin are almost always the primary variables for judging the acceptability of a wine. Given the excitement from the consumers, one could question if the trade has underestimated the enthusiasm of the general wine drinking public for the inherent quality of top South African wines? Is the old ‘value proposition’ positioning of South African wine artificially supported by the embedded historical purchasing habits of the gate-keepers. Are wine buyers taking sufficient initiative in realigning SA quality with appropriate pricing or are they simply perpetuating values that are, perhaps, no longer relevant? Are SA producers aware that South African price/quality ratios are ‘off the charts’ relevant to many of our competitors and that given current Euro exchange rates we have an ability reposition ourselves?

Consumers are generally honest and candid, especially given their power to vote with their wallets. If the consumer enthusiasm encountered over the past week were somehow translated up the value chain to the gate-keepers, it is hard to believe that South African wine is not about to adjust it’s value positioning in the right direction.

Day 2: London calling - Mike Tweets & Blogs from the UK

The buzz is building in Blighty as we inch closer to the Day 1 of the mega-tasting. London’s streets are riddled with South African’s armed to the teeth with wine – and with every intention to use it. Informal chats with some of the top UK journo’s shows that a strong media presence will be felt tomorrow and so far the top buyers from Waitrose, Sainsbury;s, Tesco’s, Morrisons, Wine Direct and the Wine Society will be descending on Earls Court to hob-nob with the who’s-who of the SA winemaking firmament. Will any of the South African journalists be present to record this auspicious moment of unity for the loyal South African public?

This year WOSA is bringing a couple of new angles to the event. About a dozen top New York sommeliers are being flown from the USA to attend the mega-tasting which is an incredibly efficient and intelligent use of WOSA and winery resources, effectively killing two birds with one stone. I will be dining with the sommeliers this evening and will be sure to blog about this tomorrow to hear their impressions. This global WOSA strategy is a good omen demonstrating the WOSA board’s commitment to a new USA wine strategy which is going to culminate in another mega-tasting of sorts in New York City on May 11^th 2010. More USA buzz is going to be evident on Tuesday the 17^th of November when the WOSA USA workshop kicks off in Stellenbosch. But I digress…

The idea that a mega-tasting hosted in London should be a purely UK-centric affair is getting old. London is the cross-roads of the wine world and WOSA’s decision to use it as an American and European platform is excellent. The effort to travel to the event from Europe is minimal and I understand that this year the event has been extensively marketed by the European offices. The proof is in the pudding, but ultimately an event of this nature is a the next best alternative to the ‘Cape Wine’ events that have been so successful in the past, but actually at a much smaller cost.

So what defines success? This is an open-ended question and one that would have a hundred reasonable answers. In my observations in many London off-con outlets, I have too–often bumped into brands that I have never (or seldom) heard of. There are too many brands that are once-off brands or buyers own brands (BOB’s) that have got no particularly identifiable source or origin. Too often these are ‘buy-one-get-one-free’ brands (BOGOF’s). These are characterless wines bearing the ‘Made in SA’ moniker, but seemingly devoid of any of the unique South African ‘Brand-DNA’. So what would define success for the mega-tasting? A successful SA category in the UK would see fewer BOB’s, fewer BOGOF’s, a lot less CRAP and much more inherent South African-ness in our brands. Success would see a tighter marketing message and a more clearly defined point of differentiation about what exactly South African-ness is. It is my hope that the unified marketing message being promoted by WOSA as the ‘BRAND DNA’ of the Wines of South Africa will be adopted and embraced.

Now, I am off (in 5 minutes) to dinner with the USA sommeliers – more from the tasting tomorrow.

 

 

Follow Mike Ratcliffe on Twitter www.twitter.com/mikeratcliffe or on FACEBOOK

London calling - Mike Ratcliffe Tweets & Blogs from the UK

The bi-annual Swallow-like migration of South Africa’s wine making and wine marketing elite to London started this weekend with flocks descending on Cape Town International for the trip to the ‘other’ London Wine Show – the WOSA ‘Mega-tasting’. The biggest showing of our collective wine muscle outside of the Cape Wine show starts flexing at Earls Court on Tuesday and one can be sure that the UK media and wine trade will again be as supportive in their attendance as ever.

South Africa’s generic wine marketing function has always been under the spotlight and over the years has been a punching bag for winemakers struggling with excessive inventories, but lately there is a growing body of evidence that WOSA has come of age. Recently Su Birch and her exceptionally able and experienced band of ‘merry men’ (and merry women) presented the marketing strategy for the year ahead including a document on the ‘Brand DNA’ of the Wines of South Africa. Now, there is no secret that I am generally predisposed to marketing orientated discussion and have, over the years accumulated an ability to assess this type of communication, but it would be an understatement if I said that I was impressed by the WOSA presentation. In fact I can take it one step further to say that the WOSA Brand DNA presentation for South African wine is one the slickest strategies that I have ever seen and is an asset that we as an industry need to embrace and celebrate. To put it simply, there is no generic wine marketing competitor that could boast anything like what we have and that is a pretty cool thing. Have you read it? Is this news to you? Well, please go onto the WOSA website and download it or call the offices and ask them to send you one of the very tastefully designed brochures that spell out the vision – and then make sure that you and your winery start implementing.

So, here I am sitting in a Kensington wine bar wondering why I am paying £7.75 for a glass of very cheap red Burgundy and pondering the relevance of this whole circus known affectionately as the UK wine market. It was Oscar Wilde that said that ‘The man who can dominate a London dinner-table can dominate the world.” Any seasoned wine marketing campaigner will tell you that London (or now apparently Hong Kong) is the centre of the wine world. On every corner there is a wine bar or wine shop plying it’s trade to a public that have come to acknowledge wine as a necessary staple as ubiquitous as a loaf of bread. If consumer acceptance is the bedrock of wine marketing nirvana, then London is where it is at and where competition is more aggressive than anywhere on the planet. For this reason I have been dispatched by the ‘powers that be’ at wine.co.za to scout for stories and anecdotes that exemplify our South African efforts and which I will be reporting on over the course of the next week – that is the full extent of my mandate.

Stay tuned – I have no idea where this is going.

Follow me on Twitter www.twitter.com/mikeratcliffe

Warwick Black Lady Syrah 2006 - coming soon