Dave Jefferson, Author at Silk Bush Mountain Vineyards

Namibia Adventure

Posted on July 15, 2014 by Dave Jefferson

In May of 2014, Catherine and I took our 32^nd combined trip to South Africa and Silkbush Mountain Vineyards, and then our very first trip to Namibia. Planning our Namibian adventure was actually an adventure in itself; Catherine spent the better part of January 2014 researching and preparing the varied intricacies of the trip. (Her research was supplanted by our favorite African travel consultant, Denise Best, www.thebesttours.net (www.thebesttours.net) who lives in GA and has assisted several friends in planning African “trips of a lifetime”).There was so much to see and experience we decided to stay three weeks driving across Namibia in addition to our two weeks in the Western Cape, on SILKBUSH and then in Stellenbosch.

Incidentally, the distances in Namibia are substantial; we covered by car at most 60% of the country, one week driving ourselves and two with our very enjoyable guide, Richard “Zubee” zu Bentheim [email protected]. If visitors have less time, flights in light aircraft can be arranged at greater cost and you really miss out on much of the flavor of the country. Like much of Africa, much of Namibia deserves to be seen more slowly and digested deliberately with the locals.

BTW, Namibia is the first country in the world to incorporate environmental protection into its Constitution. From this, many tourism options spring, providing real monetary and social benefits for the local communities who provide them and, in return, a very enjoyable and gratifying Namibian experience for tourists. We visited the highest sand dunes in the world and the largest game reserves in Africa. We visited local communities, tribal lands and developed an appreciation for Namibia, it land, its wildlife, and its tourist-friendly peoples and amazingly diverse cultures. The country has earned its nickname, the Arid Eden!

This trek also became a geological safari because of the varied and ubiquitous rock formations throughout the country. Geologically, the Namib area is composed of a wide range of rock types, ranging from 1,265 million year old granite to the present day formations making up the Namib Sand Sea. The area is just west of the Great Namibian Escarpment, a feature formed by the uplift of the entire southern African continent about 120 million years ago. In the north and southeast, we saw many lavas or “volcanics” which are exposed rock outcroppings. Namibia’s highest point is the south at 6,500 ft. above sea level. The lowest naturally is the long Atlantic coast line or sea level.

We were totally awed by the local habitats, wildlife, and traditional cultures and rituals here, and we knew our tourism dollars had a beneficial impact on the environment and wildlife conservation. We’ve chosen just over two hundred pictures from the several thousand we actually took throughout our Namibian journey. We hope they and the accompanying text will give you multiple impressions into our most wondrous adventure. Take a look at Gallery 11 (http://silkbush.com/gallery/namibia) on Namibia and enjoy the ride. Botswana, Tanzania, and Kenya are all great game camp safari areas we have also enjoyed, but Namibia is a different sort of adventure in Southern Africa; please give it due consideration.

WHY IS THERE SO LITTLE SOUTH AFRICAN WINE AVAILABLE IN THE US?

Posted on March 18, 2014 by Dave Jefferson

For those interested in trying Republic of South African (RSA) wine in the US, it is often a challenge to even find a few local bottles to buy and try. Why is this, you may wonder, given the enormous array of wines available on the grocery store aisles or in major wine shops? Well, first, while the entire US wine market is about 370 million cases sold per year, bottled RSA wine is just under 1 million cases, so less than 1/3^rd of 1%! (There is enough bulk RSA wine imported for another 2+ million cases yet it may well be blended to upgrade other wines. If so, in the process, its origin is lost and its heritage becomes invisible to the consumer.)

Next, the average retail price of a bottle of wine sold in the US is about $6.25 and perhaps 80% of all wine sold is $10/bottle or less. Since it costs about $1/bottle to bring wine from South Africa to the US, most importers have given up on selling any decent RSA wine for retail prices under $10. Since distributors and retailers receive at least 50% the retail cost of the wine, the transportation cost comes right out of the winery’s pocket. (More typically, an RSA winery will gross only $5/bottle that sells for $15 in the US, and their costs may easily be $3-$4/for the bottle.) Given all the other expenses, few foreign wineries can afford to compete in the US with Gallo and Bronco (“Two Buck Chuck”) unless they are working through great oversupplies of grapes. (And even that usually is a temporary condition, even for Australia’s [Yellow Tail].)

The other side of the coin is the simple fact few wine buyers “experiment” with wines costing more than $20 retail. (This applies equally to US domestic wines as well.) There are some wonderful RSA wines in the $20-$40 range but they will only be purchased by the very knowledgeable and loyal RSA wine consumers.

That then places most South African wine within the $10-$20 price range where most of the good yet affordable wines in the US are being sold today. The SILKBUSH wines we are importing (Pinotage and Viognier) are usually sold in the $14-$18 range, where there is lots of competition with many very good domestic wines. So clearly RSA wines cannot differentiate on price alone.

Very simply, a consumer must be interested in buying a South African wine before they enter a wine shop, a tall order. Further, there is so little experience with RSA wines in the US (essentially just the past 20 years) there is seldom a “South African section” in most wine departments, or if there is, it is just a few facings on a bottom shelf. With so little attention paid by retailers and consumers alike, there has been little RSA sales growth in most regions.

Despite these inherent adversities, South Africa’s exotic image, wild animal TV series on Discovery Channel and National Geographic, and increasing tourism (some of which is “wine tourism”), are all leading to increased awareness of the Beloved Country. The 2010 World Cup soccer championship, the recent passing of former President Nelson Mandela, and the attendance of most world leaders at his memorial services: all these exposures increase international awareness. If the Western Cape can become a sufficiently attractive international tourism destination, its beautiful Winelands are only 30 minutes from Cape Town and are usually visited. This is a long, slow way to promote RSA wine in the US but one that should work and develop permanent fans. Only time will tell.

Dave Jefferson

Reverse Wine Snobbery and Wine Supply Chain Economics

Posted on January 21, 2014 by Dave Jefferson

Reverse Wine Snob logo
Today we wish to feature an interesting and valuable wine blog, The Reverse Wine Snob, (www.reversewinesnob.com) updated quite frequently by Jon Thorsen, located in our former home state of Minnesota. (Yes, they do have very long winters and chilly springs up north, but those former Nordics purchase and drink a lot of wine, partly as a result of being indoors much of the year.) Jon’s subscribers are largely wine drinkers who want the greatest wine quality for the lowest prices, starting with the cost of subscription to his service, which is ZERO. For those of us who years ago had a smattering of economics/price theory, we understand it is impossible to solve this equation (as quality and price are both variables), but Jon does a decent balancing job: he rates wines he reviews for both quality and price, comes up with a final score, and then makes consumer suggestions to purchase, purchase in quantity, or “Saturday Night Splurge” for the highest quality, and forget the price once a week. (We like this approach!)

We think his wine blog is quite valuable for many, especially for those considering purchase of imported wine in the $12-$22 range with which they have no prior experience. Many in the wine business are regular readers as it is a very interesting approach, especially as most wine buyers are far more price sensitive than the wine business likes to discuss publicly. The average retail price of a bottle of wine in the US is around $6.25, and perhaps 80% of the wine is sold for less than $10/bottle. As growers of premium grapes in Napa, Sonoma, and South Africa, we are not very interested in the sub $10 market, but even the occasional sub $10 reviewed by Jon can be rated quite highly for low prices, hence his “Reverse Wine Snob” blog name, and his Bulk Buy category. But if the wine quality is only so-so, his overall rating is usually under about 7.3, perhaps his median score for wines reviewed on his site. (Lower quality wines are usually not reviewed.)

Because the wine business ultimately is a business, and at a minimum each participant must recover their costs (or permanently subsidize a very expensive hobby, which clearly a number do), we thought a thorough discussion of wine economics may prove interesting to some. We will leave that exercise for a later day, however, and just supply some conclusions based on our own experience.

Supply chain economics/observations:

Your retail $15/bottle of imported wine contains at most wine costing $1-$1.50 (10% at most) at the winery level, and frequently less than $1 (6% of the retail price per bottle). We hope the consumers do not begrudge the growers/wine makers this pittance of total wine bottle cost. Packaging at least triples the winery cost to somewhere between $3 and $5, FOB some major port.
The wine sold by the foreign winery for $5 then sees the cost at least tripled again to $15 if not $17 or more at the US retail store. (As there are thousands of wineries competing to get into the US wine market, and only about 300 significant distributors, and perhaps 30 major ones, the distributors and retailers are able to compete imported supply prices to the lowest possible levels.)
Most imported wine sold for $10/bottle or less is pretty much a “semi-industrial grade” product; and when you get down to $4.99 to $6.99 wine, wine reviews are irrelevant! (It may be red, 14% alcohol, and in a 750ml bottle, but that’s about it.) Admittedly, it is far better wine than available 20-30 years ago at these prices, but usually not very remarkable.
We see little high quality imported wine selling for much below $12-$15/bottle for these reasons; and since there is real consumer resistance to experimenting much above $20/bottle, it appears that most of the imported retail game will likely be played in this range for the next several years.
As more Internet-hip Millenials on limited budgets take up wine drinking, blogs such as Jon Thorsen’s will become increasingly popular. And while imported wine today in the US is about 33% of total wine sales, many have projected imported wines taking at least 50% of the US wine market within another 15 years. If so, blog-informed consumers will become increasingly happier with having taken the time in advance to sort the wheat from the chaff.

Silkbush Viognier Wins Another Fan

Posted on December 30, 2013 by Dave Jefferson

Viognier is a wine lover’s wine. Silkbush’s version from our high elevation vineyards is creating quite a stir among people who are searching for the best of the best.

I was blown away by this bottle of Viognier from South Africa. There is a lot of great things going on with this wine. Without oak barrel aging, the layers of all the flavors and aromas are front and center! My mouth is watering for more! Lisa Mays, Wine with Lisa Read her review and pairing suggestions.

Lion's Drift Pinotage, Terroir Driven Wine

Posted on December 27, 2013 by Dave Jefferson

Wine enthusiast, educator and blogger Lisa Mays from Nashville, Tennessee encourages her fans to try something new. “For those of you who don’t branch out and try wines that you might not be so familiar with, this is a great time to do so and experience South African Wines like you never have before.” Lisa Mays, Wine with Lisa. Read her review and get to know Lisa.