This week, the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale (ASI) has arranged for 83 sommeliers to visit Cape Town, and JC will be meeting them at a Chardonnay Association conference where they will taste some of the best Chardonnays produced in South Africa.
Why is their visit so important?
We believe the future of South African wine in international markets is inextricably linked to the advocacy of knowledgeable sommeliers who can effectively communicate our unique story, quality and value to their guests.
Sommeliers play a crucial role in bridging winemakers and consumers, enhancing guest experiences through expert pairing, service and storytelling. They also provide crucial market feedback to producers like us, helping us refine our offerings to better meet consumer expectations while maintaining our distinctive character. This dialogue between sommeliers and South African producers has been instrumental in our quality evolution.
The most effective sommeliers approach South African wines with genuine curiosity and openness. At Creation, where our fine wine alchemy is a rare combination of art, science, people and our sense of place, we’ve seen how this complex interplay is best communicated through passionate, knowledgeable sommeliers who have experienced it firsthand. When a sommelier can speak authentically about walking through our vineyards, feeling the maritime breezes, seeing the fynbos growing alongside our vines, and meeting our people, they transform the wine in the glass from a simple beverage into a compelling experience.
Understanding the origins of wine and experiencing the vineyard work firsthand fosters a deeper appreciation for what reaches the glass. This deeper knowledge inevitably translates into more confident, compelling recommendations to diners, who are offered not just exceptional quality but also a journey to a distinctive terroir that can’t be replicated elsewhere.
We believe that South African wines offer several distinctive attributes that make them particularly valuable to sommeliers across the global hospitality sector. These include:
- Terroir diversity within a concentrated geography.
- The most ancient vinous geology (dating back 3.6 billion years) combined with the youngest spirit.
- A New World approach to winemaking while honouring Old World traditions.
- Wines that often combine European-style structure, restraint and elegance with New World fruit expression and accessibility—a balance that makes our wines particularly adaptable to diverse cuisines in cosmopolitan settings.
- Exceptional quality-to-price ratio at premium price points.
- Distinctive varieties and blends that stand out on wine lists, e.g. Chenin Blanc and Cape Blends.
- Compelling sustainability narratives backed up by IPW (Integrated Production of Wine) certification, which provides a level of environmental credibility and production traceability that few wine regions worldwide can match.
- Authentic artisanal production.
At Creation, the same team that does the pruning in the vineyards also does the suckering and the harvesting. This level of care and continuity translates directly into the quality and authenticity of the wines, and resonates deeply with consumers in mature wine markets.
For sommeliers who value discovery, distinctiveness, and delivering exceptional value to their guests, South African wines offer a compelling proposition that combines tradition and innovation, familiarity and uniqueness, in ways that few other wine regions can match.
Ultimately, sommeliers who champion South African wines are writing a new chapter in the global wine narrative—one that embraces the extraordinary quality and distinctive character that South Africa offers. Their passionate advocacy is transforming perceptions glass by glass, list by list, and restaurant by restaurant.