US tipplers get a taste for SA wine

‘Selling brand South Africa’ JOY ORLEK SOUTH AFRICAN wines are making significant inroads into the US market, with growing volumes moving onto supermarket shelves. New York-based specialist beverage importer, 57 Main Street Imports, shipped over 1m cases to the US last year, and volumes this year have already overtaken previous figures, president and CEO Peter Morales told FTW in New York recently. While the stronger rand has already created marketing challenges, Morales believes that marketing goes way beyond the product. “You’re selling a lot more than wine – you’re selling brand South Africa – and after years of isolation it’s been a difficult deprogramming exercise to raise the country’s profile in America,” says Morales, who has visited South Africa 58 times in the past eight years. It’s been a period of enormous change. South Africa is currently the company’s tenth largest import source out of a total of 72. Top of the league are Australia and Italy. “We started off after 1994 dealing with 27 South African exporters. We now have more than 129, representing a cross-section in terms of price and quality.” The average bottle, he says, sells at $8. “We sell wine as a component of the history of South Africa. We teach people the cultural aspect so that they’re buying a lot more than just the wine.” In line with this philosophy, 57 Main Street has taken on a strong social responsibility role. Shipping containers used to import South African wines and spirits into the United States are returned to the Cape Winelands filled with books and other educational materials destined for the agricultural communities with which the company trades. This is a joint initiative by US distributors, SA suppliers and Safmarine. In a separate initiative, 5% of the nett proceeds of South African wines and spirits sold in the US are donated to benefactor schools in the Cape to help purchase supplies and fund educational projects. The outlook, he says, will depend on exchange rate issues. Consumers want good quality at the right price – and as long as South African wine can deliver on that promise, the market will grow.