The Southern African Agri Initiative (SAAI) recently launched a wine marketing project which aims to ease the pressure on South African wine farmers, brought on by the national lockdown.
The Wine Farmer, which launched on 22 October, is an online wine store aimed at making family farm wines available to consumers across South Africa at cellar door prices, according to Francois Rossouw, CEO of SAAI.
The project is the second part of SAAI’s strategy to help family wine farmers combat the damaging effects of the restrictions on alcohol, during higher lockdown levels, he said.
“It was our strategy from the start to not only fight government and Covid-19 regulations in court but also to do something proactive. The Wine Farmer is the second half of our initiative to help family [wine] farmers get their industry going again,” said Rossouw.
The project aims to stimulate the local market and create a unique consumer experience, he said.
The South African Agri Initiative (SAAI) has launched, The Wine Farmer – a wine marketing project aimed at easing the pressure on family wine farmers, brought on by the national lockdown regulations. PHOTO: Wines of South Africa website/Erica Moodie
The Wine Farmer is an online wine store which makes family farm wines available to consumers across South Africa at cellar door prices, according to Francois Rossouw, CEO of SAAI. PHOTO: Wines of South Africa website/Stellenbosch Wine Routes
The project launched at Marianne Wine Estate, on 22 October and will initially list the products of nine wine farms from each wine region on its website, according to Francois Rossouw, CEO of SAAI. PHOTO: Wines of South Africa website/Stellenbosch Wine Routes
The Wine Farmer is more than just a wine store; it is an online platform for local wine farmers to “take their tasting rooms to a wider audience”, according to Kwagga Boucher, winemaker and CEO of The Wine Farmer. PHOTO: Wines of South Africa website/Robertson Wine Valley
Creating a connection
The Wine Farmer is more than just a wine store; it is an online platform for local wine farmers to “take their tasting rooms to a wider audience”, according to Kwagga Boucher, winemaker and CEO of The Wine Farmer.
The website not only lists the products of each wine farm, but also provides the history of each farm in the form of a short video accompanied by a written summary, said Boucher.
“Each wine farm listed on the site has its own teaser video, as well as a longer video about the wines, the family, the winemakers and the history of the farm,” he said.
The Wine Farmer is a multiplatform marketing project to promote family farm wines to consumers across South Africa. The website includes videos as a marketing strategy to create a connection between the consumer and the wine farmer, said Kwagga Boucher, winemaker and CEO of The Wine Farmer. VIDEO: YouTube/Wine Farmer
According to Boucher, due to the closure of many restaurants, wine shops and wineries during the lockdown period, a number of family wine farms lost the spaces that were used to store and promote their wines.
“Some of the oldest farms in South Africa are wine farms in the Western Cape. We want to preserve that and also promote the family wines of South Africa,” said Boucher. “The difference between this platform and some of the other online shops is it gives you more history about the farm and the family – creating a connection with the winemaker.”
The Wine Farmer launch was a resounding success!
— The Wine Farmer (@TheWineFarmer1) October 23, 2020
Thank you to everyone for helping to make our launch celebration a success. We are grateful!@Saai_org @ErikaObermeyer @springfontein @Akkerdal @Arendsig @LaBoucher @MarianneWines @marras @Welbedacht pic.twitter.com/Z06If2y3fw
The Wine Farmer launched at Marianne Wine Estate on, 22 October. EMBEDDED POST: Twitter/@TheWineFarmer1
Future plans
Initially, The Wine Farmer will list the products of nine wine farms from each wine region on its website and thereafter a new farm will be added each week, said Rossouw.
“We started with nine because [the project] is in its initial phases, but we are looking to ramp up to 140 farms,” he said.
According to Rossouw, The Wine Farmer has received an overwhelming response from consumers, as well as from wine farms looking to get involved in the project.
The project’s launch, which was held at Marianne Wine Estate, was a “huge success”, he added.
“The Wine Farmer is a very good initiative for the small family boutique wineries like ourselves,” said Cisca Louw, marketing manager at Marianne Wine Estate. “Marianne Wine Estate already got a lot of exposure just by hosting the launch.”