Adéle Changuion

A good wine and an attractive label are not enough to build a sustainable business. South Africa Wine’s Phil Bowes explains why finding customers, testing assumptions and understanding the numbers should come before committing to a new wine brand.

What happens in a vineyard long before powdery mildew becomes visible? Dr Minette Havenga is studying how fungal pathogens survive, spread and respond to fungicides. We talk research, resistance and why, if she weren’t a scientist, she might be investigating something entirely different.

The wine industry invests in training, but how do we know whether it is making people better at their jobs? South Africa Wine’s Kachné Ross believes the answer lies in looking beyond courses and qualifications to what people can do.

'n Mens hoef nie noodwendig eers 'n wynkenner te wees voordat jy ‘n belangstelling in wyn ontwikkel nie. Soms begin dit met iets wat jy reeds geniet, en wyn vorm deel van daardie ervaring.

South Africa Wine's first RDI Day, held on 7 October 2026 at Diamant Estate in Paarl, put the people who have spent more than 27 years building the industry's research, development and innovation capacity at the centre of the programme.

The way consumers find wine is changing. A decision that once happened in front of a shelf or with advice from a wine retailer can now start with a question typed into an AI platform.

Wine fermentation is a complex microbial process, with different yeast species interacting with one another throughout fermentation. But what happens when one species is removed from the community?

South Africa may not top the charts of global wine production, but its footprint on the world stage is far larger than its size suggests. According to 2025 data from the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) and the South African Wine Industry Information and Systems (SAWIS), the…

South African wine producers have access to more climate data than ever before. Weather stations, satellite imagery, forecasting models and farm records are all adding to the picture. A recent South Africa Wine and TerraClim Fireside Chat focused on another important source of information: the “citizen scientist”.

South Africa's wine industry has a 367-year history, but its story continues to evolve as a new generation of entrepreneurs enters the sector. Karin Kleinbooi, Executive Manager: Inclusion and Development at South Africa Wine, says the growth of black-owned wine businesses is an important part of…

Wine research starts long before the bottle reaches the shelf. It gives producers a better understanding of what happens in the vineyard and cellar, while providing evidence for decisions that can affect the wine consumers eventually drink.

‘n Wynproe hoef nie altyd tussen vier mure plaas te vind nie. Suid-Afrika se Wyn-trein, wat deur New Cape Central Railway bedryf word, bied ’n pret alternatief om wyn te ervaar.