2021
- January 2021 - launch of #myfavouritesouthafricanwines
Following on from the article by Bruce Jack in The Buyer, WoSA UK worked with Richard Bampfield to launch #myfavouritesouthafricanwines. There was a great deal of traction with this hashtag with many fellow MW’s and high profile journalists, writers and educators posting in support of the South African wine industry. See more information here.
- 2nd February 2021 - Spectacular South Africa – Tourism
A focus was placed on Tourism for this #SpectacularSouthAfrica campaign. With the UK in lockdown we wanted to get people thinking about South Africa and planning their trip for when travel opened up again. On the South African wine industry’s birthday we took our followers on a virtual tour of our winelands, visiting each wine route and posting aspirational images to showcase each region. See the following examples: https://www.instagram.com/p/CKyXPb9Lno_/ / https://www.instagram.com/p/CKzCuy1Lddq/
We were grateful to VisitSAwinelands for their collaboration with this activity.
In addition we posted the WoSA video showcasing all the things that we miss about #SpectacularSouthAfrica.
- 18th and 26th February 2021 – Love Wine online tasting event
Waitrose teamed up with Love Wine (Laura Clay, Heather Dougherty and Richard Bampfield MW) to host two consumer tastings in support of Bruce Jack’s Headstart charity trust. WoSA UK helped to promote the events and over 250+ consumers attended the online tasting on 18th February and the second tasting on the 26th also sold out.
- 18th March 2021 – Instagram Live with Helen McGinn and Kat Farmer
Helen McGinn (@knackeredmother) and Kat Farmer (@doesmybumlook40) focused on South Africa for their Instagram Live tasting on 18th March 2021. WoSA UK worked with Helen to source the wines and helped to promote the event on social media channels.
The Instagram live has had 6,823 views on @knackeredmother’s site and 35,333 views on @doesmybumlook40 so far: https://www.instagram.com/p/CMk-d8Bgl4a/ / https://www.instagram.com/p/CMkkMQIHZx-/
Helen McGinn posted on Instagram after the show with the wines: “The Search is made by @trizannesignaturewines, the Chenin Blanc is from @kaapzichtwines and the Cinsault from @stellenrust_wines, all available from @waitrose. The Vergelegen Cab/Merlot is from @coopuk and the Bag in Box from @brucejackwines is from @tescofood”.
This post had 447 likes and 38 comments
A second Instagram live / post from Kat Farmer mentioned the Kaapzicht Estate Bush Vine Chenin Blanc. That post has had 34,223 views:
“AND the wine tonight was from our South African WINETIME last night with @knackeredmother - Kaapzicht Estate Bush Vine Chenin Blanc from @winesofsouthafricauk from @waitrose - SUPERB!!!”
- 25th April and 3rd March 2021 - Wine Tribe tasting with Dan Nichol and Greg Sherwood MW
The Wine Tribe is a collaboration between Dan Nichol (Dan really likes wine), Greg Sherwood MW (buyer at Handford Wines) and WoSA UK. A selection of wines were put together by Greg Sherwood and those joining the tasting were able to purchase the wines at a discounted rate. Wines of South Africa promoted the event on social media platforms and via the consumer newsletter. The wines on show were:
- Mullineux Syrah 2017
- Leeu Passant Cabernet Sauvignon 2018
- Brookdale Mason Road Chenin Blanc 2020
On 25th February 2021 WoSA UK market manager, Jo Wehring, took part in a pre-tasting interview with Dan Nichol and Greg Sherwood MW. This interview has so far had 63 views.
The Wine Tribe tasting took place on 3rd March 2021 and we were joined by winemakers Andrea Mullineux from Mullineux and Leeu Wines and Kiara Scott from Brookdale Estate. 30 consumers attended the online tasting.
A highlights section has been created for the Wine Tribe on our Instagram account.
- Friday 26th March - App takeover with The Wine Society
The Wine Society took over Instagram Stories on the @winesofsouthafricauk page. Highlights can be seen here.
In addition, we highlighted the ‘Dog box’ which featured wines from Painted Wolf Wines at The Wine Society.
- Friday 12th, 19th & 26th March 2021 - Live YouTube tastings with Veritas on the Dean Callan Show with Joe Wadsack
Joe Wadsack, drinks expert and TV Presenter teamed up with internationally renowned bar personality and consultant Dean Callan to promote the wines and brandies of South Africa. Over three special episodes of the Dean Callan Show, Joe aimed to show just how compelling these wines are to a larger audience. Joe, a regular senior judge at the annual Veritas Wine Awards in South Africa, selected a collection of wines from those that have been awarded Double Gold status, the highest rating in this internationally respected competition. Armed with these spectacular drinks, Joe brought the joy and unparalleled value of South African wine to a wider audience. WoSA UK helped to promote these tastings on our social media platforms.
Featuring Helena Nicklin: - 150 views
Featuring Olly Smith: – 163 views
Featuring Helen McGinn: – 67 views
- 30th and 31st March 2021 – webinars with the Cap Classique Association to celebrate 50 years
WoSA UK invited media, wine journalists and social media influencers to two webinars hosted by The Cap Classique Association. A selection of Cap Classique wines were sent to the attendees beforehand and we have seen a fantastic array of pre and post event coverage on social media, podcasts and articles which all highlighting the quality and diversity of South African Cap Classique. A highlight has been created on our Instagram page.
In addition to the webinars a competition with the Cap Classique Association was launched on 27th May 2021 and will run on the WoSA UK Instagram account until 27th June. More information can be found on the WoSA UK website.
- 26th April & 24th May 2021 - The Sommelier Collective Discovery Course: South Africa
WoSA UK ran two discovery tastings with The Sommelier Collective on 26th April and 24th May 2021 at 16.00 – 17.30 BST. The tastings were hosted by Charlotte Hey at The Sommelier Collective
Session one looked at Swartland, Stellenbosch, Hemel-en-Aarde Valley and Constantia. Session two covered Franschhoek Valley, Elgin, Breedekloof and Robertson.
Tasting packs included a map and 50cl sample bottles of three different wines from each region and the sessions were presented by six of our winemakers (one per region). 59 sommeliers attended the first session and 46 attended the second. These numbers are fantastic, especially as the on-trade had started to open up again before the second discovery course and the sommeliers were able to go back to their restaurants.
Session one
Session two
In terms of promotion The Sommelier Collective posted on Instagram
They also created a dedicated WoSA highlight with shared member content.
A write up of the tastings can be found on the Sommelier Collective website here.
WoSA UK also reposted shared content and created a highlight on our Instagram feed. You can see this here.
- Tuesday 27th April 2021 - Richard Bampfield and Marc Almert
An Instagram Live chat with Richard Bampfield MW and Marc Almert (ASI Best Sommelier in the World 2019) where they had a conversation about their favourite South African wines.
WoSA UK helped to source the wines and promote the event, encouraging viewers to buy the wines and taste along if possible.
- 30th April 2021 – #67FromHome
A webinar hosted by 67 Pall Mall highlighted collectable wines from South Africa. The tasting gave a preview of the Cape Fine & Rare Wine Auction and featured Cathy van Zyl MW, Victoria Moore and Charlie Foley.
- Friday 7th May 2021- Spectacular South Africa - Sauvignon Blanc Day
To celebrate Sauvignon Blanc Day WoSA UK was approached by New Zealand Winegrowers to collaborate along with Wines of Chile by sending out samples to the press and media. This provided a good hook for many journalists who may not have covered our wines individually and provided a ‘compare and contrast’ and variety for their articles. We received lots of social media interaction and a highlight has been created on our Instagram account.
We also had great fun with our colleagues making the ‘Flavours of Sauvignon Blanc’ video for the WoSA #SpectacularSouthAfrica campaign.
- Friday 18th June 2021 - Spectacular South Africa - #DrinkChenin Day
Another fun video was produced by WoSA for #DrinkChenin Day and thankfully we had some sunshine in the UK! The theme of this #SpectacularSouthAfrica campaign highlighted where you can enjoy Chenin Blanc. View the video here.
WoSA UK also posted some recipe ideas with sushi or roasted pork and we saw lots of interaction on social media and have created a highlight here.
- Thursday 15th July - Waitrose virtual SA tasting to support the industry
Following news of another alcohol ban in South Africa, Waitrose Buyer Victoria Mason put together a virtual tasting to support the South African wine industry. Along with our winemakers Victoria hosted the event with the Wine Tasting at Home team for John Lewis and Waitrose customers. Wines of South Africa UK helped to promote the event online and Jo Wehring also gave a quote for the official press release. Exactly 100 households registered for the tasting and the customer feedback has been very positive and included comments from customers who were not previously familiar with South African wines, which is very positive. We are grateful to Victoria and Waitrose for their continued support.