MICHAEL FRIDJHON: An array of niche wines to be had by the discerning
Those who were prescient enough to have made the right choice land up in good enough company to make wine merchants pay attention
Route to market is probably the single greatest difficulty confronting the small and mid-size Cape wine producers. If you are very big or if you have been around for long enough to have brand status in the eyes of consumers, you can always find a home with one of the big distributors. If you would rather have control over your destiny, you can also elect to manage the entire sales and marketing side yourself. This strategy comes with added costs, no real economies of scale and some resistance from the major retailers, which want deliveries aggregated to ensure the fewest number of trucks in their parking lots. If you are neither, you have to find a home at one of a handful wholesalers/negociants. Those who were prescient enough to have made the right choice land up in good enough company to make wine merchants pay attention. Over time, as relationships develop, more and more wines from the distributor’s range get added to the wine lists of restaurants and obtain listings in the wine...
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