Focus on South Africa

Since the last time I reviewed these wines in depth (Issue 131), South African wine in the U.S. has become essentially a tale of two markets. Importers who have track records for marketing their wines without relying on WOSA support continue to do well with South African wines. These companies have frequently benefitted from an economic environment in which retailers, consumers and restaurants are looking for new and interesting wines in the $25-and-under category, and they are actively bringing in new vintages from their suppliers as their previous vintages sell through.

At the other extreme, many less experienced or simply less effective importers have struggled to sell their stock and in many cases are still working through old vintages. Some have not brought in new vintages; others report that their South African suppliers are also sitting on old inventory and have been slow to make new vintages available for export. This winter I was surprised to discover that several U.S. importers were still offering wines I reviewed two years ago, and many others have moved ahead by one vintage, not two. Or they are cherry-picking wines from their suppliers more assiduously. A few producers have left their U.S. importers in the belief that they could do better elsewhere—a strategy that has generally not been successful at a time when relatively few importers are looking for new suppliers.