Comic Relief teams up with South African winery

Have a drink, have a laugh, and be charitable. Comic Relief has teamed up with SAAM Mountain Vineyards to produce the first-ever Comic Relief wines. Damien Hirst, Jancis Robinson MW and Tim Atkin MW have all been involved, and two wines will be available to buy across the UK from 1 February, with £1 from each bottle sold going to Wine Relief.

Damien Hirst contributed his "red nose" painting as the artwork for the label, while Jancis Robinson MW and Tim Atkin MW worked closely with SAAM on the wines.

Jancis Robinson MW explained: "Wine Relief this year sees an exciting new turn, as we have our own wine for the first time. Tim Atkin and I chose these South African wines ourselves and are confident that wine connoisseurs and amateurs alike will find them distinctly superior. They provide a delicious and thoroughly enjoyable way of doing your bit for Red Nose Day. Chances are you’ll be buying a bottle with your weekly shop anyway so it’s just about making an educated choice."

It is hoped that the project will raise £750,000 in the six weeks leading up to Red Nose Day on 13 March, which will go to Comic Relief to help extremely poor and disadvantaged people in Africa and the UK. Wine Relief has previously raised £2.7m as part of other Red Nose Day campaigns.

SAAM is WIETA certified and a member of the SA Biodiversity Initiative. And with these wines, environmental and ethical considerations have been at the heart of the process.

The wine will be shipped in bulk in order to reduce carbon emissions from transport compared to shipping filled bottles. They are packed in lightweight 356g bottles, a reduction of around 23% compared to conventional bottles which have an average weight of 460g. Also, flint (clear) glass bottles were used because they are far more easily recycled in the UK than green glass. It is estimated that the total carbon emission savings will top 1,276 tonnes.

SAAM provided the wines at cost, JF Hillebrand shipped it at a reduced rate and Quinn Glass bottled it for a special price. Erbin and Multiprint provided capsules and labels respectively at cost and all of the retailers are working at reduced margins.

SAAM’s Red Nose Red is a Pinotage/Shiraz, and the Red Nose White is a Chenin Blanc, both from the 2008 vintage and both from Paarl. Each bottle has a RRSP of £4.99, with "an army" of retailers set to stock the wines including Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Morrisons, Somerfield, Waitrose, Marks & Spencer and Booths.

Alexis Hercules, 29.01.09