Mike Fisher, a founding partner of US investment banking firm Global Wine Partners believes South Africa, with its excellent wine-growing conditions, the beauty of its winelands and competitive cost structures, is well placed to advance from its relative obscurity in the US to the point where it becomes better recognised for its quality offerings.
In South Africa in November to attend the annual general meeting of the Great Wine Capitals Global Network, he was impressed by evidence of the ability to make high quality wines here and also by the local wine industry’s sustainability initiatives, which he considered to be ahead of most of those in California
However, in his view, South Africa was the least known of the major wine-producing regions amongst US consumers. “Go into any grocery store in the US and of the 300 wines on the shelves, you will be lucky to find more than one or two of South African origin.”
While “not overwhelmed” by most Pinotage he tasted, although there were some notable exceptions, Fisher, who initially trained as a winemaker, found South Africa’s expression of the Bordeaux varietals to be very good. He was also impressed by local Sauvignon Blancs and Chenin Blancs. “South Africa’s reputation as a producer of Sauvignon Blanc is gaining ground. The same could happen with Chenin Blanc but because it is still very much a secondary variety in the US, it will be a harder sell.”
Given a general reluctance to invest during financially uncertain times, he predicted that there would be fewer investment transactions in the international wine industry over the next 12 to 18 months. “Moreover, the large companies have done their consolidating for now and it is not in the nature of the small specialist producers to amalgamate to achieve economies of scale.”
Source: wine.co.za
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