CapeWine 2021 postponed
· 2 min read
The triennial South African wine trade show, CapeWine, held in Cape Town and hosted by Wines of South Africa, has been moved from its planned slot in September 2021 to new dates in 2022, the 5-7 October. The move is a result of the Covid-19 pandemic impacting on the planning of the event, which usually begins in earnest 18 months before the show date.
The situation in 2020 has had a major impact on the South African wine industry, with exports banned for a five week period and domestic wine sales stopped for an even longer period, only resuming on 1 June 2020 when the country moved to a level three lockdown. Exports are still slower than expected due to the port in Cape Town struggling to cope with the demand. This has had a huge impact on Wines of South Africa’s income, which is directly linked to exports, and also on the financial situation of many producers. The combination of these two factors, plus being unable to secure a main sponsor for the event, has driven the decision to move the show back by a year.
Commenting on the move, Siobhan Thompson, CEO of Wines of South Africa, said: “With so much uncertainly over the future currently, we have taken the difficult decision to move the CapeWine show to 2022. Financial pressure and the lack of certainty over international travel in the longer term have made it impossible to plan for the event at this time. We know that CapeWine is a much-loved event and we want to ensure that the next one is bigger and better than ever. With that in mind, it is sensible to move to 2022, when we hope we’ll have a clearer insight into wine trade events and a more settled picture regarding resources. We cannot wait to welcome the international wine trade back to our beautiful winelands.”
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