Gauteng is VIP Market for Cape Legends
Monday, 20 October, 2014
Cape Legends
Gauteng accounts for approximately 60% of South Africa's premium wine market, said Ross Sleet, Cape Legends marketing director, and should be a critical focus for any serious wine producer.
Speaking at the Cape Legends Vines of the Cape (VOC) trade wine show, held on 16 October in Johannesburg at Sandton's Urban Tree, Sleet said; "Gauteng is our most important market, and we are allocating significant resources to building our brands here, through a growing sales force on the ground as well as events like VOC, which directly connect our winemakers and marketing teams with the people who sell our wine to consumers. "Cape Legends is a premium wine company based in Stellenbosch, with an extensive collection of superlative quality, award-winning wines from 20 brands.
To illustrate the importance of the Gauteng market to Cape Legends, Sleet noted that Gauteng (JHB and Pretoria) comprises almost half of their total wine sales in South Africa. Across three of Cape Legends' premium brands - Durbanville Hills, Fleur de Cap and Zonnebloem - Gauteng consumes 58% more Cabernet Sauvignon than the Western Cape.
“It is important to establish a marketing relationship and build our brand in Gauteng, and the VOC affords us the opportunity to do this. Our Winemakers have been on hand to answer any queries and they regularly visit Gauteng during the year, showcasing the best of their wines and varietals at winemakers dinners and wine shows. It's important that Gauteng wine drinkers also feel a connection with the brand, regardless of whether or not they have the opportunity to visit the Cape Winelands. Putting feet on Gauteng soil is the way we achieve that."
Over 400 wine industry trade and local media attended the VOC, which highlights both the consistency and diversity in the Cape Legends range.
Some of the featured wines included:
= The newcomer to the Plaisir de Merle range of wines, Petit Plaisir 2010 – a Shiraz-driven blend with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec.
= The Le Bonheur Prima 2009, which won a gold medal at the International Wine & Spirit Competition. The newly repackaged Neethlingshof Gewurztraminer and the IWSC gold medal winning Neethlingshof, The Six Flowers 2013.
= The newly released 2007 vintage Plum Pudding Hill Syrah from Stellenzicht.
= Earthbound, South Africa’s only wine to be certified both Organic and Fairtrade. This range recently received three medals at Decanter World Wine Awards, four medals at IWSC 2014 and a double gold at the 2014 Michelangelo International Wine Awards.
= Uitkyk’s new Glass Memoires Chardonnay/Pinot Noir MCC 2011, along with the farm’s maiden Pinotage.
= A sneak preview of the new limited edition Alto MPHS red blend, which will only be on the shelves in April 2015.
= Fleur du Cap Unfiltered Sauvignon blanc.
= The new SMV (Shiraz, Mourvèdre and Viognier) from Lomond, one of only a very few producers in the Cape Agulhas wine region.
= The renowned red and port-style wine farm from the Swartland, Allesverloren presented its Trés Vermelhos 2012 and Allesverloren Red Muscadel Jerepigo, as well as the Tinta Barocca Rosé 2013.
= The Monis line of sherry, which is flying high thanks in part to an international revival of sherry both as a drink on its own, or mixed in cocktails.
= Also on hand for tasting were 14 wines from the Bergkelder Vinotèque wine bank, the Stellenbosch repository renowned for the holding of fine, mature wines in optimal conditions.
About Cape Legends:
Cape Legends is one of few wine companies to lay claim to an archive of South African wines dating back more than 90 years. Wines hailing from wineries such as Zonnebloem, Uitkyk, Fleur Du Cap, Neethlingshof, Monis, Stellenzicht, Jacobsdal, Alto and Pongrácz testify to Cape Legends’ preservation of winemaking traditions, whilst its wines with UK and international distribution represent commitment to driving the South African fine wine category forward in the long-term.
Cape Legends is a premium wine company based in Stellenbosch, with an extensive collection of superlative quality, award-winning wines from 20 brands, including some of the Cape’s most recognised wine estates. According to marketing director, Ross Sleet: “Cape Legends is the custodian of these brands, drawing on values of heritage, innovation, passion and respect to represent them in various ways, from ownership, to part ownership, to acting for a winery from a local and international marketing and sales perspective.”
The Cape Legends wine portfolio consists of:
Allesverloren, Monis, Alto, Neethlingshof, Durbanville Hills, Plaisir de Merle, Flat Roof Manor, Pongrácz, Fleur Du Cap, Red Escape, Hill & Dale, Stellenzicht, Jacobsdal, Theuniskraal, Le Bonheur, Uitkyk, Lomond, Zonnebloem, Place in the Sun, and Earthbound.