Durban - The wine industry promises to present the largest wine show ever to be staged in the southern hemisphere at Cape Wine 2015 from September 15 to 17.
Some of the topics lined up for the event include: The World’s Windiest Vineyards; What Happens when the Warm Indian and Cold Atlantic Oceans Meet; The Impact of Sea and Mountain on Pinot Noir; a Semillon vineyard more than 100 years old; and The Age-worthiness of South African Wines.
Over three days delegates will gain understanding on how the industry has been catapulted from an obscure, isolated outsider to an accomplished performer with an original voice and eagerness to explore new wine-growing areas, varietals and styles.
Attracting capacity numbers of exhibitors and delegates from every continent, journalist and wine judge Matthew Jukes has billed Cape Wine 2015 “an essential date in the wine calendar and the only way to taste every newly released wine” the country produces.
Sweden’s 2014 sommelier of the year, Patrik Strömsten, compares it to Prowein, Bordeaux and Vinexpo as “the place to be to learn everything you need to know about South Africa and its great wines”.
According to Wines of South Africa chief executive Siobhan Thompson, the show is a multi-media look at South Africa’s wine industry today, reflecting who we are and how we have come to this point.
“It’s tempting to view our two-decade trajectory as a jump from zero to hero, but things are seldom that straightforward.
“The positive reputation South Africa is currently enjoying comes from exceptionally hard work over many years and across several fronts, and behind the evolution is a sophisticated infrastructure designed to promote quality, techno-logy and innovation,” she says.
That innovation embraces advances in viticulture, soil and managing limited and non-renewable resources, investment in plant improvement programmes and worker training, better operational efficiencies and improved value-chain logistics for smarter, more cost-efficient wine-growing and production.
They are lessons the industry has taken to heart and been willing to acknowledge. The result is the international award-winning wines that grace our tables today – and it is certainly one of the reasons to love one’s job.
Diary notes: This year’s Mercury Wine Week will be held at the Suncoast Casino and Entertainment World from August 27 to 29 – with a newly introduced afternoon show on the Saturday. Tickets, available at the door or from Computicket,cost R120.
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The Mercury