Wanda Augustyn

If you want to understand where the global wine industry is heading, don’t look only at retail shelves or export statistics. Look at what is happening in the bulk wine market.

Luxury tented hospitality has become one of the fastest-growing segments of experiential tourism. Around the world, wine regions are discovering that guests are looking for far more than a comfortable bed. They want to wake up among the vines, enjoy dinner under the stars and experience the…

The global wine industry is changing. For years, bulk wine was often viewed as the quiet workhorse of international trade, a category defined by volume rather than value. Today, that perception is changing rapidly.

Tim Atkin MW’s 2026 South Africa Special Report recognises some of the country’s leading winemakers, growers and producers. But beyond the podium sits a bigger story about place, the 2025 vintage and the economics of sustaining South Africa’s quality gains.

Jean Naudé has spent more than two decades leading South Africa’s oldest wine estate. Along the way, he has learned that great wine brands are not built overnight. From leadership and heritage to wine tourism and resilience, these are the lessons he believes every wine professional should remember.

There is something revealing about a chef saying there should be nothing really to hide behind on a menu.

Born in Paris, influenced by travel and now established in the Alentejo, Alexandra Leroy Maçanita has helped turn Fitapreta into one of Portugal’s most distinctive wine tourism destinations, a place where history, hospitality and wine meet with quiet confidence.

A family-run resort in the Drakensberg offers a compelling lesson for the wine industry: when tourism is grounded in purpose, it can sustain the land, uplift communities and create experiences that truly endure.

Rudi Smith (29) didn’t find wine. He grew up in it.

Louwrens Laing (28) is redefining what leadership looks like at the final stage of the wine journey.

Jennifer Keenan’s journey from the kitchen to front of house shows how wine, food and people come together to create something memorable.

Sarah Coppings is changing how wine is seen, understood and experienced by bringing together design, storytelling and a deep appreciation for the industry.