For several years now, Robin Shaw has taken groups on an immersion tour of South African wineries, showing them everything from tasting rooms to architectural wonders.
“Since my first visit in 2004 I have been impressed by the level of sophisticated wine experiences infused with a high standard of hospitality in virtually every region,” she says.
What's surprising is that Shaw, an Australian who runs a company called Wine Tourism Australia, is not taking wine lovers on her tours. She's taking international wine tourism professionals, to show them one of the world's most innovative destinations.
The emergence of a juggernaut
During the apartheid era, South Africa was cut off from the world’s wine markets. Unable to export, they developed sophisticated inbound wine tourism much earlier than in other countries.
In 2022, wine tourism — still recovering from Covid — contributed 3 bn Rand ($162.2 m) to South Africa’s GDP. The indirect spend was 9.3 bn R.
Significantly, South Africa Wine had believed that the wine tourism sector wouldn't rebound to its pre-Covid levels until at least the end of 2023.
"When we did the macroeconomic analysis on the wine industry's performance in 2022, we saw that we had not only fully recovered but surpassed 2019 levels," says Marisah Nieuwoudt, Wine Tourism Manager for South Africa Wine. "This was ahead of tourism recovery in South Africa at large, and globally."
South African wineries enjoy an advantage not available to most wineries in the rest of the world: abundant and affordable labour. This makes it easier for South African wineries to expand their offerings as the opportunity arises. But it’s a benefit that cuts both ways; in the third quarter of 2024, South Africa’s unemployment rate stood at 32.1%, which means that wineries offer a critical pathway to work for many people — the sector employs between 12,000 and 14,000 people, depending on the time of year, not counting the 80,000 people who work full time in the wine trade.
“What we’ve also seen is that wine tourism is getting increasingly important for our wineries as a revenue stream,” says Nieuwoudt.
Who is a wine tourist?
In 2022, South Africa Wine wanted to know who was visiting wineries, so they borrowed a framework from research done in New Zealand. “We went out to wineries and interviewed about 800 people. We segmented our tourists for our wineries and gave them three types of tourists to keep in mind.”
Wine lovers
The first type was the wine lover, who turned out to represent 20% of people that visited wineries.
“That group of people I would class as an intentional wine tourist, because they travel for food and wine,” says Nieuwoudt. “They consume food and wine magazines. They belong to a wine club.”
Curious tourists
At the other end of the spectrum are ‘curious tourists’. “These are the guys that are not necessarily knowledgeable about wine,” she says. “They’re here on holiday and they’ve heard that it’s one of the main things you’ve got to do.”
Normally these aren’t people who would travel just for wine. But because they’ve heard it’s a ‘must do’, wine is one of the differentiators that draws them to South Africa, as opposed to any of the other many African destinations offering wildlife and beaches. This group represents about 15-20% of visitors.
Wine-interested visitors
Then there’s the ‘wine-interested’ visitor. “They know a little bit about wine, they’d love to know more, but sometimes they find the language a little bit intimidating,” says Nieuwoudt. “The social setting for relaxation and food is a big driver for them.”
South African Wine’s conclusion is that wineries can grow value and volume by including people who are not necessarily wine lovers, particularly when creating social media.
“I think we have an inclination to speak as if every consumer is a wine lover.” Nieuwoudt adds that the trade tends to underestimate the value of the ‘curious’ tourist, “But for us, that group of people is a really nice opportunity. We can convert that person who hasn’t had much contact with wine, for whatever reason.”
Wine Market Opportunities in 2030
Turning tourists into wine lovers
About a third of South African wineries have conference and event venues; half have a restaurant, while 27% have accommodation and wine tours and experiences.
Marisah Nieuwoudt, Wine Tourism Manager for South Africa Wine
Around 92% have a tasting room.
Shaw always emphasises to wineries that they need to collect email addresses at the tasting room, so that when there’s a special event or promotion happening, the winery can invite them back — whether the event is taking place at the winery itself, or in an export market.
Nieuwoudt says domestic visitors tend to buy more on their visits, “which is common logic because it’s easier for them to transport home than it is for international visitors,” who can’t take many bottles back in their luggage.
But, increasingly, this isn’t a problem. Many South African wineries work with a German-based service called CAPREO, which keeps a large stock of their wines in its European warehouse. Visitors from Europe fill out a sheet at the winery and give the date they’ll be home, and CAPREO will ensure the wines are delivered.
Working with airlines
The highest number of tourists come from the UK, with Germany and the US right behind. In terms of value, the US is second.
In 2022 113,300 Americans visited the Western Cape. In just one year, that number rose to 140,234 — which was no accident, because it coincided with the introduction of more flights to Cape Town. As of December 2022, Delta Airlines flies from Atlanta to Cape Town three times a week.
“We realised there was quite a bit of latent demand in the system for travel to Cape Town direct,” says Nieuwoudt.
South Africa Wine worked in partnership with Cape Town Air Access, part of the Tourism, Trade & Investment Promotion Agency for Cape Town and the Western Cape (Wesgro).
“We focus specifically on attracting new airlines to the destination,” says David King, Project Manager.
There is now new investment going into the airports to handle the new influx, which in turn will make the airport more desirable.
Airlines don’t just turn up, however. Attracting them is a long process of negotiation and deal making involving incentives, though King was unwilling to give too many details.
But the impact of the flights can be measured. “The average market stimulation that you can get is almost an increase of 25% when a direct route is launched,” says King. “We’ve also seen a massive growth in business class passengers.”
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He says this influx of well-heeled visitors has had a positive impact on the market. Having seen for themselves what’s on offer, both Cape Town and the wine regions have also gained from visitors booking conferences and other business activities.
There has also been a direct financial impact on ancillary businesses, like wedding planners; 8% of wineries have a chapel on site. Nieuwoudt says that being able to offer such facilities has a financial spinoff that goes to “caterers, to event suppliers, florists, the waiters and then everybody who works at these events”.
And, critically, South Africa's wineries work together to promote the country.
One such facility is the astounding chapel at Bosjes, designed by Steyn Studio of London, whose curved roof echoes the surrounding mountains and valleys. After visiting the chapel, visitors can head through the gardens, which were inspired by Biblical tales. Making the landscape itself part of the experience is another thing that South African wineries emphasise, making sure to immerse visitors in the country’s unique flora. Many wineries offer the opportunity for guests to take a glass and sit in nature, rather than on manicured lawns.
Smoothing the demand curve
But while the wineries are keen to attract high-spending international visitors, they must also appeal to their local audience, because “they come back several times a year and they purchase the wines online,” says Nieuwoudt.
If things get too artificial, locals will reject the offering. “If it doesn’t feel South African, they’ll tell you,” she says. “As people increasingly ask for authentic experience, the locals keep us honest.”
And the wineries are inclusive. One source of revenue is so-called sober wine tourism — people visiting wineries who don’t drink alcohol. While relatively new elsewhere, it’s something South African wineries have accommodated for a long time. “We have a very large Muslim population in Cape Town and they love wineries,” says Nieuwoudt. “They’re not allowed to partake because of their faith, but they love the food, the view, the architecture and the energy. A lot of our wineries have markets on weekends and live music.”
Another draw is how child-friendly many South African wineries are. “So whether you’re having a glass of wine or a glass of apple juice, your kids are still occupied.”
One such is Creation Wines, which has a dedicated (and fully supervised) room full of toys and books for the kids, so the adults can explore the food and wine without interruption. Carolyn Martin, co-founder of Creation, says that after these children grow up, they return as adults — and bring their friends with them.
What wineries never do, says Nieuwoudt, is make an effort to convert non-drinkers to wine. “They’re still welcome to enjoy the food and the views.”
Which explains why there are so many people exploring the farm store, restaurants and ice cream at the sprawling Babylonstoren complex, before signing up for the garden tour. These 3.5-ha gardens were inspired by the 17th-century gardens that supplied trading ships with fruit and vegetables, and visitors are encouraged to pluck and sniff.
Shaw says that after she brought a group to see Babylonstoren, among other wineries, they returned to Australia and overhauled their own offerings. “That visit in 2013 influenced the eventual design and experience selection of the new-look Seppeltsfield, seamlessly combining heritage factors with modern offerings that have attracted numerous tourism awards.”
It’s this kind of inspiration that keeps her returning.
