I was recently asked to answer a few questions for a journalist on The South Coasters, a marketing group that myself and a group of friends started. I got rather carried away and so I thought I would post it here too. Enjoy.
The South Coasters is first and foremost, a group of good friends all making wine in the cooler Cape South Coast region of South Africa. We are bonded by a shared ethos of low intervention winemaking, regenerative viticultural practices and a love for cool climate, maritime wines.
Some of us are old friends, having known each other since university days and while we all went our separate ways in finding our path, it feels like one day we looked up, and found ourselves surrounded by the best crew we could ever hope for. Though we are bonded by friendship and a common approach, each member has their own unique expression and interpretation of our cool, marginal terroir. No two wines are anywhere near the same yet all seem to possess a precision, a tension that speaks to the poor soils, the wind and the graft that it takes to cultivate this land at the very tip of Africa.
We are nine producers in total, all of us are small and independent winemakers. For more information on each brand, please visit www.thesouthcoasters.co.za/producers from there you can find links to each of our websites.
Deep Rooted Wines
by Mark Stephens
Brunia
by Wade Sanders
Lielie Van Saron
by Natasha Williams
Charla Haasbroek Wines
by Charla herself
Maanschijn
by Doug Mylrea and Paul Hoogwerf
Van Niekerk Vintners
by Albert and Anmar Van Niekerk
Thamnus Wines
by PJ Geyer
Saurwein Wines
by Jessica Saurwein
Weather Report
by Christopher Keet
The South Coasters began in 2022, much like many great things do – over a shared bottle of wine at a barbecue. Frustrated by the high cost of Cape Wine, the leading trade show where none of us were exhibiting, we lamented the lack of opportunities for small producers. Fueled by Roland Peens' (husband to Jessica Saurwein of Saurwein Wines) idea of a "Side Show" capitalizing on the main event, we came together with just weeks to spare. We found a free venue, created a marketing blitz, and voted on a catchy name. The event's success solidified our belief in the power of collaboration.
Since that first event, we have hosted three more events for trade and general public in Cape Town and Johannesburg. We have also hosted a media event where we invited journalists to stay over at one of our members farms. We also get together to host tastings with international critics such as Tim Atkin and Neal Martin. This December we are pulling out all the stops to host a Wine Festival in the idyllic coastal town of Hermanus. We have even bigger ideas for future events but let us take it one at a time…
The events that we host are intended to create awareness for our brands and to give a snap shot of the Cape South Coast under one roof. The goal has shifted slightly from trade and media in previous events to retail customers in the festival setting. That said, that is where we are now, our goals and the events we host will grow organically over time. We are inspired by events such as the Swartland Revolution and Hospice du Rhone and from my personal perspective, I would like to see us build on those concepts and come up with something uniquely us.
We fund everything ourselves; the total cost of an event or marketing divided by the number of participating producers. We do not have a hierarchical structure and everyone is keen to participate. When we sit down, it is always a different member who starts the discussion and from there, everyone is given a chance to speak and be heard. Each person plays to their strengths; Paul Hoogwerf of Maanschijn takes on developing marketing material, I liaise with service providers and find venues etc. It is truly amazing what we can accomplish when everyone carries their weight.
To sum up, The South Coasters leverages each producer's marketing reach, giving us access to a wider audience. The gravity that we are able to create as a group is far more than what each producer is able to achieve on our own.
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