Stuck in the middle?

While South Africa forges ahead in the UK off-trade, activity in restaurants is scant, especially at the top end.  Charlotte Hey discusses the possibilities for further listings

There’s no denying South Africa has been the buzz of the UK off-trade this year.  With record growth in the sector for two years on the trot, a great response to the recent generic tasting and a big promotional schedule planned in the multiples up to Christmas, it seems that the success is set to continue.

But what about the on-trade? Has the South African generic effort overlooked this vital sector? With the concentration of branded wines coming out of the country is its offer too narrow to make in-roads in what is often anti-brand territory?

And could South Africa’s reputation for value at the lower end affect the country’s performance at the top-end? From a generic point of view Sophie Wagget, marketing manager at Wines of South Africa UK, openly admits that the generic campaign has not given any emphasis to the on-trade to date, but it’s not going to be that way for long.

"It is an area which we are analysing at the moment," she reveals.  "We are looking to focus upon the on-trade more during 2004.  It’s definitely an exciting area for South African wine and one with tremendous potential – education is going to be key in making the opinion formers in the on-trade understand what South Africa can bring to lists."

Unfortunately, though, the feeling that seems to prevail in the top-end restaurants of the south-east is similar to that of Joelle Marti, wine buyer, Great Eastern.  "There is a lot of South African wine produced but only a few that are exciting.

Much of it is about mass production which appeals to the off-trade – it’s on all the shelves; juicy, fruity and cheap.  When you want something a bit more complex there’s no choice.

There are expensive wines but really how good are they?" If this is the prevailing sentiment it’s going to take some time for the South Africans to replicate their offtrade success on restaurant lists.

Understanding South Africa and educating the trade about the diversity of wines on offer is a challenge.  A quick look at a few lists in top-end restaurants will yield little that represents the potential of what is starting to come out of some of the more niche producers.

James Yeo, proprietor, Yeo & Co sees "obscurity" as the main obstacle.  "There is quality there to rival any other international standard but the on-trade has to play a part in extending the reputation of South Africa as a top-end wine producer.

Initial cautiousness often turns to incredulity and, most importantly, listings once sommeliers have tried the wine.  However it takes time to change perceptions, there are a growing number of enthusiasts out there but a lot more of the top-end wines need to get their wines poured more frequently."

Many in the on-trade still question the ability of South Africa to produce anything exciting or suitable for top-end lists, which is a shame given that some producers are beginning to show the quality potential at the premium end.

According to Kate Thal, restaurant consultant, South Africa "really hasn’t had enough time to build its reputation and in prestige dining, when it comes to South Africa, there is no desire to look for wines that are different and new.

It’s the usual suspects who appear on the lists every time. But," she continues, "the reds are getting better and better, there is a real move towards more terroir driven wines and they are worth taking a punt on."

A recent convert to South Africa is Douglas Wregg, sales director at Les Caves de Pyrenes, who until the last generic tasting felt that South Africa really had "nothing of interest on offer at the end of the market where we operate – the Cabernets were uninteresting and the Pinotages disgusting.

But I have to say they seem to have got their act together.  I still think to succeed at the top-end, the winemakers have to concentrate more on site specifics."  Price is another dominating factor.

Where South Africa is seen to represent excellent value in supermarkets across the land, in the restaurants of Britain the opposite is true.  However, South Africa is not alone in its plight of convincing restaurant customers to shell out for a top-end new world wine over the safe bet, old world classics.

Despite this James Ellis, managing director, Ellis of Richmond, points out, "I don’t think that South Africa is performing yet at the top end – where it is doing well is between £8.99-£14.99.  However the problem arises in trying to sell wines above £10.

There are not many restaurants who will contemplate selling a South African wine at £30-40.  For me their success in the mid to long-term lies in the £5-10 bracket."  But the on-trade is not just about the white linen and Riedel glasses.  Nor is it only about the on-trade wine buyers of the south-east, even though that is where many trends are bucked.

Successful brands do have the possibility to make the cross-over from off- to on- at the lower to mid-end in the bar chains and pub co’s.  Andrew Porton, marketing manager, California Direct, believes that, "Large sections of the on-trade are dominated by brands, so in order to tap into that market, South Africa needs some more genuinely unique and interesting brands of its own."

Similarly, as Ellis states, there is potential for South Africa to succeed in the "smaller regional chains of restaurants and burgeoning gastropub scene".  Porton however feels that there is even more scope, "The ‘holy grail’ would be for South Africa to establish itself on the wine lists of either ethnic (Indian, Chinese) or Continental (French, Italian) restaurants – the sort of places that you find in every town and city, not just the high-end and trendy places.

If South Africa were able to shoulder in on just a bit of France and Germany’s prominence in this market, that would be a great achievement," he comments.  The main challenge is to convince ontrade buyers that South Africa can offer more value compared to traditional areas like Spain, France and Italy.

And this can only be done by building and maintaining a reputation for value and quality in the mid-range and above.