The trip, organised by New York based importer Cape
Classics, took winery representatives including Abrie Beeslaar and Deidre Taylor of Kanonkop, Emil den
Dulk of De Toren, Carl van der Merwe of DeMorgenzon, Brad Paton of Buitenverwachting,
Luke O'Cuinneagain of Glenelly, Gavin Slabbert
of Raats Family Wines, Peter de Wet of Excelsior, Henry Kotzé of Morgenster and Thomas Webb of
Thelema, through key US markets to showcase their wines to consumers
and members of the trade.
Highlights included: a private dinner with Wine Spectator at South African
restaurant Kaia in NYC; a “flagship” lunch at Chicago’s popular Naha restaurant
with key regional buyers, including America’s first female Master Sommelier
Madeline Triffon; a sold out consumer wine dinner hosted by Gavin Slabbert of
Raats Family Wines and Luke
O'Cuinneagain of Glenelly at NYC’s Corkbuzz, winebar and
educational center founded by Master Sommelier Laura Maniec.
“These tours are a collective mission to build the great
wines of South Africa into a visible, sought after, and financially successful
wine category in America.” said Rob Bradshaw, president and COO of Cape
Classics. “The category is still being built here, and in a competitive
marketplace face-to-face interaction between winery and customer is crucial.”
Capitalising on the popularity of the barbeque and the
increased interest in South African fare in the US, Cape Classics hosted braais
in New York and Boston for trade members to “meet and greet” winery
representatives over food and wine. Traditional cuisine was grilled on sight
including braaibroodjies, boerewors,
and peri peri shrimp, while attendees tasted through the extensive lineup
of wines.
“As a selling opportunity, the braais worked very well,” said Kanonkop’s Beeslaar. “A
braai is the new golf course!”
Reflecting on the tour, Den
Dulk of De Toren said he remained excited by the potential, of the US market
while O’Cuinneagain said the best part was seeing the
enthusiasm guests had for South African wine. Van der Merwe of DeMorgenzon agreed:
“Americans remain enthusiastic about discovering South Africa, but the
challenge remains to convince customers to recognise the quality and actually
deplete shelf stock.”
Bradshaw said the tour was part of Cape Classics strategy
to raise the level of noise around South African wines: “With every passing day
the news gets louder and the consumer learns a little more. The stories the
winemakers tell and the time they share converts one buyer at a time and, like
compound interest, that force can grow powerfully.”
CAPTION
Abrie Beeslaar of Kanonkop with America’s first woman Master
Sommelier Madeline Triffon.