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MICHAEL FRIDJHON: Top-quality wines even a recession cannot rough up
It is a constant and not unjustified lament of SA’s winemakers that they sell their wines too cheaply. Sometimes winery owners highlight the point by illustrating that the wine steward in a restaurant earns more from the 10% tip on the wine list price of a bottle than their business banks on the same sale. There’s no easy solution to the problem: some hoped the drought would lead to a shortage of bulk wine, and an increase in grape prices, which, in turn, would ratchet up ex-cellar prices of everyday drinking wines. I saw no evidence of it at the wine show in Pretoria in July. The 2018 Porcupine Ridge Sauvignon Blanc (consistently one of the best entry-level examples in the industry) was still selling for less than R50 a bottle. Landskroon’s 2017 sauvignon was no more expensive. The Hill & Dale 2016 Cabernet Shiraz, which is delicious and accessible, is on shelf for R60 — as is both the merlot and the pinotage from the same cellar. The Fleur du Cap Chardonnay 2017, which has a dollo...
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