Cape Town, South Africa, 17 September 2025: Last week the global wine world decamped to Cape Town, South Africa for Cape Wine 2025 – where visitors were wowed once again by the depth and range of what producers in South Africa can craft. While wine consumption is declining there are opportunities out there for producers seeking growth.
Where opportunities lie
At a panel debate hosted by Advini, Spier, Bruce Jack Wines and chaired by Richard Siddle of The Buyer, the discussion focused around tackling pressing questions around marketing, varietal strategy, collaboration and the rapidly expanding African market opportunity. While times may be challenging there was a sense of optimism amongst those sitting on the panel.
“The South African wine industry is entering a new dawn,” said Bruce Jack of Bruce Jack Wine particularly in neighbouring countries within the African continent.
“Africa’s wine market is growing and sustainable, and we are uniquely positioned to benefit. Shifting supply and demand dynamics are moving producers from price takers to price makers, improving margins across the board,” Jack explained.
Tech plays a pivotal role in growth
But that was not the only force helping to propel wines from South Africa to ever greater heights. Those producers and brands using tech to build authentic relationships with their customers and consumers as well as being open to new technology players in the drinks space will have an advantage going forward.
“Technology now allows us to communicate directly and authentically with consumers — and logistics and funding platforms such as Ferovinum help remove the tyranny of distance, reducing costs and complexity,” explained Jack.
Mitch Fowler, chief executive officer of Ferovinum agreed the opportunities for those looking to export internationally is huge and having a partner that understands the pain points producers and brands face is critical.
“By leveraging our scale, we can deliver smarter consolidation, reduce costs of goods sold, and embed automation into supply chains – a game-changer for producers exporting into the UK, US and Europe,” said Fowler.
South Africa on the global wine stage
The South African wine industry has faced incredible headwinds over the past decade from a three-year drought from 2015-2018 to the Covid-era lockdown that was stricter for alcohol producers in South Africa than in most wine producing countries. Yet, despite these challenges South Africa still holds a pivotal place on the global wine stage. It ranks sixth in the world by export value and now accounts for 3.6% of global wine exports.
With a continued focus on producing quality wines and export markets, there are reasons to believe in the optimism felt at Cape Wine 2025.
