For a number of years entrepreneur and restaurateur Leonard Arangies contemplated the wine industry and the fierce competition amongst its main players with some amazement. Countries like Australia, Chile and France have illustrated over the years that to survive, a marketing campaign should be conducted under a collective brand umbrella. South African producers are still trying to make it on their own and in the process often overspend in a very competitive market. If they were to join hands they might enjoys more success locally and abroad.

If you contemplate this tendency to try and succeed in a vacuum – coupled with an inability to sell to the local market - it is easy to understand why the tanks are full and why many producers are sitting with surpluses while praying for a weaker Rand Sunday after Sunday in a hope to boost overseas sales.

There is a saying that one should mow your own lawn before you mow the lawn of your neighbor. In South Africa it seems that everybody is half-heartedly attending wine-shows and wine-expos. Estates put a lot of energy into getting consumers to taste a little of their wine in the hope that they might buy a bottle or two, but in the back of their minds they dream of that international shipment that might just be ordered.

Arangies recently went to Argentina to see how they manage to consume 91% of their production in their own country. Upon arriving in Argentina he soon realized that most people had some knowledge of wine. Not always a profound knowledge, but still enough to get them interested in wine-drinking and the different cultivars belonging to their country.
It was soon clear that the main problem in South Africa was likely that only the elite and people in the wine-industry had knowledge of the product and production in South Africa. As with so many other areas in South Africa this too came down to a lack of information and education.
It was also clear that the barrier to entry in our country was way too high with academies charging excessive fees for wine appreciation courses and that it often is a lengthy process. Quite often the potential drinker must find his own taste through an expensive route of trail and error. When one is fortunate enough to live in the wine producing areas, one can visit the wine estates and get to taste the different produce. Even in this case it would’ve benefited the individual if he had some tools by which he could judge the produce for himself.
Arangies realised soon enough that the local industry required a DVD aimed at demystifying wine and the industry of wine making. This DVD should explain the different cultivars in detail from soil, plant, fruit, process, to the wonderful finished juice that we so much like to drink. This DVD would make it easy for the newcomer/novice to understand the differences in cultivars, types of wine-styles, vintages, maturation periods and other interesting facts.
Armed with these tools the newcomer can now start to explore the wonders of these products formed by the collaboration of man and nature.

Normally a formal wine-appreciation course would cost many thousand of Rands and valuable time would need to be taken in order to attend these courses. With this DVD, aimed at demystifying the product associated with snobbism, elitism and prejudice, a new stream of wine-drinkers would enter the market. They would now start to enjoy the product for what it is - a sociable enjoyment of life that should be available to each and everyone.

How to do this:

The series of DVDs will start off by explaining and teaching everything about the 10 best known cultivars in South Africa: five white and five red. The course will lead one through the complete process of planting and harvesting to wine-making and bottling.
This will be of great value to people who have never been to a farm or a wine company.
“From the single varietals we’ll take them through the process of blending, then to the world of MCC’s, straw wine (Noble Late Harvests), fortified wines and ports to the art of brandy making. We even plan to put a little insert on olive-oil tasting and the growing trend of the Garangiste. This would show to the new market that one does not have to own a farm in order to enter into the business. From time to time the presenter would also give tips on which foods to marry with certain wines,” says Arangies.

These DVD’s will be marketed on TV, at wine expo’s (local and overseas), wine shops, Estates and tourist offices and bookstores around the country. The complete series can be shown on TV by show-casing one cultivar every week. This would create further interest in the DVD. A further idea is to shoot the series in a funky new-age style that would be totally fresh when compared to the often dour programmes we see of the wine industry. The younger market that is drinking ‘trendy’ alcoholic beverages should be intrigued by the new style video that is as trendy as the high-tempo advertisements seen for other beverages. The video must be informative, but not boring. Often programmes on wine look like a cross between ‘50/50’ and ‘Maak ‘n Las’.

This complete take on wine should however be totally generic and free of estate advertising and brand exposure.

Financial institutions could benefit greatly if they sponsor a DVD such us this. The sponsors logos would be splashed over the DVD, the presenter could wear the brand on his chest and a watermark logo would be ever present throughout the entire programme. The first institution to get behind such a brand would also been seen as forward thinking and as a leader in bringing knowledge to the average person on the street.

“From the complete DVD we’ll then cut a shorter DVD aimed at training restaurant and hotel staff. Often hospitality workers might know the wines on the menu, but would lack the insight into the product that would get them to understand the product better. This summary would be slightly more interactive and should be no longer than 60minutes in total. This way staff would become more knowledgeable leading to higher sales for the business and better service would lead to higher tips for the staff. Restaurants can purchase this product and use it as an easy training method to old and new staff and in this DVD we might need to give some product exposure due to the interactive nature of the course,” Arangies adds

The third section of the project would be a short summary of the complete course. This insert should be no longer than 6 to 10 minutes long and should be used as an appetizer to our industry. Typically this insert would be shown on incoming flights before landing, in hotel rooms and lobby’s, at info centers, on busses and on local TV stations.

Keith Mzala Dudula will be the presenter used in the DVD. He is not a famous sportsperson, a stand-up comedian or an actor, yet he has that x-factor that is needed to seduce an audience. He is also totally believable as he is a true wine lover. People from both ends of the spectrum would relate to Mzala and he would be able to bridge the gap that has formed over the past decades. The DVD would be called Mzala’s Big 10- Guide for the people. Mzala is the Xhosa and Zulu word for cousin and the idea is that Keith would become known as the wine cousin.

“Let’s advertise and train generically and as one industry, then we’ll see the sales and the interest in the product explode, and then if we need to export we can produce more”, Arangies concludes.

I present to you the BIG 10:

Whites: Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Semillon, Riesling
Reds: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinotage, Pinot Noir, Shiraz

Leonard Arrangies