Top South African wine shops not in the malls, not on every street corner
MAKRO and Ultra Liquors are top of the pops for many bargain-hunters when it comes to South African wine shopping. However, where to go if price is just one of your criteria for choosing a wine store, if you’re also after a good shopping experience, knowledgeable folk and a selection that extends to craft and artisanal, cutting edge and the stuff that’s getting rave reviews from the experts?
The Top 30 wine producers in the Cape were asked for their pick of the top wine shops in the country and whether there are stores anywhere else in the world that they regard as also particularly good ambassadors for South African wine. “Who is doing the best job of selling Wine SA? Who are the best of the specialists when it comes to SA wine retailers, and where best to shop for SA wines anywhere else around the globe?
Overall, the following local retailers received most recommendations from the leading producers, some of whom listed five or six, while others named a dozen or two:
Norman Goodfellows
Caroline’s
Wine Cellar
Port2Port
Wine Concepts
In terms of specific towns and city’s, the following stores received more than a few nods:
JOHANNESBURG: Dry Dock, Norman Goodfellows, Solly Kramer’s Parkhurst
CAPE TOWN: Caroline’s, Liquor City Claremont, Wine Cellar, Wine Concepts
HERMANUS: Wine Village
STELLENBOSCH: Vineyard Connection
Outside South Africa, the Cape’s wine producers deal largely through wholesalers and distribution agencies, only some having direct contact with the stores. A few of the top cellars punted Handford Wines of London, and there were a couple of votes for several other retailers in the UK including High Timber (restaurant licensed to sell for both on- and off-consumption), Majestic, Swig and Waitrose, as well as for CAPREO and Kapweinversand in Germany, for Albert Heijn in the Netherlands, for Wein & Co in Austria and for the Southern Hemisphere Wine Centre in California, USA.
For the stores’ contact details, click here.
We drink wine in the Eastern Cape too! Best in PE for a wide selection from mainstream through to niche/boutique (and imported wine selection too) and good on price is Preston’s in Main Rd, Walmer, and Summerstrand Village. Tops at the Humerail Waterfront also good for stocking wines not always widely available. Tops in St Francis Bay is well known for a good selection of fine and boutique wines.
An under-appreciated wine store is the Kaap Agri on High Street in Worcester. They do not have the best of the Breedekloof or Worcester wines but they do sell well-priced, sometimes hard-to-find wines from most of the farms in those regions.