Selling wine is a tough business. Annual consumption of fermented grape juice rises every year, but the picture is distorted by the Chinese and Indian markets, which along with other so called emerging economies, accounts for most the increased sales. In the traditional retail wine markets of Europe and North America the picture is very different. Here consumption of wine is at best stagnant and the supermarket shelves, where approximately nine out of every ten bottles are sold, groan with an ever expanding array of wines. In the traditional wine producing and consuming countries of Europe such as France, Italy, and Spain, the young increasingly drink beer or Alcopops and often view wine as distinctly un-hip, old fashioned and, heaven forbid, something their parents drink.
As mentioned in previous blogs, wine consumption in Kenya albeit at a low base level is increasing dramatically. For the lower price band of wine between $5 and $10 a bottle, promotion is largely confined to the handful of importing companies trumpeting their respective commercially successful brands, usually from South Africa or increasingly Chile. A typical promotion for these wines normally consists of a display in a local supermarket where (usually) young sales representatives try to tempt the shopper to sample and hopefully buy this week’s bargain.
The bargain more often than not is a commercial white, red and sometimes rosé, usually a single varietal, Sauvignon Blanc or Cabernet Sauvignon for example, that in wine speaking parlance is described as easy drinking; fruity with low tannins and at the higher end of dry, or, increasingly off-dry. These promotional campaigns, mostly through the supermarkets, are much the same as anywhere in the world, although we do not as yet have the three-for-two or the 10% discount offer if you buy a case.
For the mid price level for wine above $15, but below $30 a bottle, the choice is reasonably good in that quality examples can be found from the Old World, Italy, France, and Spain, and the New World, mostly South Africa and Chile. Much like anywhere in the world, consumers often bulk at paying a premium for these mid priced wines largely because they are not really sure what extra quality for their money they are getting. In addition for the consumer it is not helped by the absence of the promotion of these wines; the distributors perhaps believing that sales are relatively so small that there is little merit in investing in promotion.
Above the $30 a bottle price the wine market in Kenya is at best miniscule. In the wider world despite economic recession, the demand for so called fine wines seems to increase exponentially. Bordeaux first growths, Burgundy Gran Crus, and some flagship New World estates such as Screaming Eagle in California, can charge, and do, just about what they want. The need to promote these iconic wines is non existent as buyers already know that they are unique products and that the price is more a function of demand and supply rather than anything to do with the taste. Indeed, part of the attraction is that they are collectable, endowed with a caché that above all makes them a sound investment.
Against the promotional tide, there are occasionally in Nairobi promotions of wines that in some respects do not, from an economic perspective, seem to make sense. One example was an evening a week or so ago of an event promoting The Chocolate Block. The wine emanates from the Boekenhoutsklof Winery in Franschhoek, South Africa. A Shiraz led blend, (the 2008 vintage is a blend of 69% Shiraz, Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon and a dash of Cinsaut and Viognier[1]), the wine mimics to an extent a Rhône Valley wine from France; a quintessential so called “Rhône Ranger”, and the label has been a huge commercial hit in South Africa (current annual sales are around 180,000 cases). Also, the wine sales well in European markets in particular the UK. Boekenhoutsklof understands and exploit the fact that a wine with a discernibly taste, in this case chocolate, is both understandable and desirable for wine consumers who seek at the very least consistency. In other words, the label delivers what it says, chocolate.
The Market for The Chocolate Block is in Kenya at best is limited, not least because at a price tag of around KSH4,000 (about $50) a bottle it is not exactly going to fly off the shelves. Yet Boekenhoutsklof and Kafra[2], (the distributor here in Kenya), went to the expense of sending the marketing manager from South Africa to Nairobi (as well as Uganda, Nigeria coupled with a trip to the UK and Germany) to promote the wine, and I for one are more than grateful. Boekenhoutsklof as part of the larger Vinimark Company[3], (South Africa’s largest independent specialist wine wholesaling company), have the resources to warrant such “loss-leader” adventures into new markets. It underlines the fact that selling wine is a tough business and that it requires strong nerves to push the investment boat out, so to speak. As the saying goes the best way to make a small fortune in the wine industry is to start with a large one.
[1] The following are notes from Boekenhoutsklof. “The Syrah fruit comes from Malmesbury with its unique growing conditions and dryland farmed vineyards to ensure it deep-rooted vines and therefore optimal concentration of colour, flavour and tannin structure. The Grenache noir (from some of the oldest in the country) is sourced from Citrusdal with its very sandy soils and perfect terroir for ripening this grape varietal. This batch was matured in 600L barrels to retain the unmistakable fruit and freshness on the cultivar. The Cabernet Sauvignon and Viognier come from the organically farmed vineyards of Boekenhoutsklof and the Cinsault is from old bush vines on decomposed granite soils on Welbedacht in Wellington. The wine matures in 2nd and 3rd filled French oak barrels for 15 months before it gets a light egg-white fining.
The wine shows typical Malmesbury Syrah flavours on the nose with intense spicy notes which is supported by ripe plum, black fruit and violet aromas. The wine has a grippy acidity and well integrated tannins with a well textured and rounded mouth feel. The long, elegant and succulent finish with superb structure from the Cabernet Sauvignon leads us to believe that this wine has at least 8 years of aging potential”.
[2] The Chocolate Box is aavailable from Kafra Wines Kenya Limited, Kafrawines@nbi.ispkenya.com
[3] The labels under the Vinimark Company include Avondale, Fish Hoeh, Glen Carlou, Longridge, and South Africa’s only bio-dynamically certified estate Reyneke Wines.
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