Even before we acquired the land that would become Silkbush Mountain Vineyards, marketing RSA wine overseas was an intrinsic part of our evolving, entrepreneurial business plan. Ever since April 1994, when Dave Jefferson, SILKBUSH cofounder, made his first of now some 24 extended trips to South Africa, we concluded there would be a market for the best South African wines in North America and other markets once they were available in sufficient quantity. By July of 1996 Dave started laying the groundwork for SILKBUSH Vineyard while evaluating prospective Cape wine acquisition opportunities for Beringer Wine Estates.

By early 1998 Beringer changed its corporate priorities, but Dave and Anton Roos, SILKBUSH's present vineyard manager and cofounder, had worked well together and professionally bonded. To them, it appeared optimal to aggregate overseas equity capital, acquire a local vineyard needing replanting, produce largely export quality red wine, and establish an overseas distribution network. Accordingly, their business relationship and objectives soon became known to other Breede River Valley growers and wineries, which urged them for help overseas in marketing their wines immediately! However, even though Anton is a respected viticultural consultant, local grower and winemaker, and Dave has been a California grower and winery owner and investment advisor for over thirty years, exactly how they would sell wine nationally was not clear.

The first step was to create a licensed importer entity to receive and distribute wine samples, to qualify wine labels with the U.S. Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), and to evaluate the interest and creditworthiness of prospective distributors. In 2003 we created South Atlantic Wines, a new division of our Novato, CA management company. South Atlantic gained Federal and California wine importer licenses (no small feat itself) and is working with various Cape wineries to obtain wholesale representation in selected US markets.

By 2008 we were enjoying sufficiently mature vines and large enough crops that SILKBUSH could supply both our client wineries and have enough grapes available for wines under our own Lions Drift label. The 2008 Pinotage, with SILKBUSH Mountain Vineyards on the label as “vineyard designate,” is being introduced into a select few US markets in 2009. In 2010, we will have substantially greater wine supplies available from the 2009 harvest so as to be able to open more US states and certain EU markets, especially in Scandinavia, and the Russian Federation.

Our new LIONS DRIFT label

Below are the front and back wine labels for the 2008 Lions Drift Pinotage on its maiden voyage across the South Atlantic:

Pinotage: South Africa’s very own grape and SILKBUSH’s first wine

While we have provided a brief history on the development of the Pinotage grape further below, equally important is why we have selected Pinotage as SILKBUSH Mountain Vineyards first export wine and the creation of our Lions Drift brand and label.

First and foremost, we know we have a terrific wine made from exceptional grapes. Bruce Jack, the highly talented and internationally recognized winemaker and founder of Flagstone Winery (recently acquired by the upstate New York based Constellation Brands organization) has been purchasing SILKBUSH Pinotage for several years. Bruce has been very laudatory of the fruit and our vineyard manager, Anton Roos. But the payoff was on June 26, 2009 at the Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show, one of the two most prestigious shows in South Africa. This year’s show attracted over one thousand entries, with international judges and international wines. Medals were very scarce with only 7% of entries garnering a silver medal or better. Rising above the competition, Flagstone Writer’s Block 2007 was selected one of the four best Pinotages at the Show. This wine which retails for over $24/bottle is 100% made from the same Pinotage fruit that goes into Lions Drift Pinotage! Accordingly, our Pinotage should be consistently be one of the very best in South Africa.

Cognizant of the exceptional grapes from SILKBUSH, Bennie Wannenburg, Cellarmaster at Waboomsrivier, our large local coop winery in Breedekloof, started experimenting in 2007 with three different red wines exclusively from SILKBUSH grapes, using new French oak barrels. All three wines were quite good, but our Pinotage was simply remarkable. The 2007 vintage wine from SILKBUSH grapes was largely gobbled up by local grower members of the winery but we lassoed a pallet (56 cases) and brought it to the US so our American partners could finally drink wine from their own African vineyard and to do test marketing. The response from discerning palates in the wine trade, from sophisticated wine collectors at private tastings, and from dozens of friends and other consumers all confirmed we really had a winner. However, by the time we had completed the market research, most of the 2008 vintage Pinotage had been purchased but Bennie still had enough in barrels for about 250 cases. (We will have significantly more available in 2010 from the 2009 vintage, but it has just gone into new barrels imported specifically for this program.)

The LIONS DRIFT brand

The Lions Drift brand was developed for SILKBUSH a few years back but awaited the appropriate moment for introduction with a superior product. In the interim, so many wine labels with animals on them came out that, as a grouping, the trade often refers to them as “critter wines.” However, we don’t think many will associate the noble Lion King, emblematic of Africa, with many little critters, as cute as they may be. Further, we were intrigued with the Dutch word “drift” on some Cape highway signs and on the label of the most popular South African brandy, Klipdrift (which literally means “stone crossing.”) When it was explained that a safe river crossing, usually shallow and underlain with stones, was a drift, it all made sense. Such safe crossings were of course used by migrating animals but were also essential to the early colonists who risked getting their wagons stuck in the mud of every stream and river crossing.

In the Cape they say Pinotage is the juice extracted from women's tongues and lion's hearts. After having a sufficient quantity, one can talk forever and fight the devil.

Accordingly, we proudly created the Lions Drift brand as an acknowledgement of the continent and country from where the wine originated and the viticultural contributions and history of the early Dutch settlers, who first made wine at their Kaapstad (Cape Town) colony in 1659, now 350 years ago.

The history of Pinotage

While most noble grapes evolved in Europe over hundreds, if not thousands of years, and now have been cultivated in numerous wine growing regions of the world, Pinotage is unique. In 2009 South Africa is celebrating only the 50th anniversary of the world’s first Pinotage wine commercially available; and, were it not for a fortuitous chain of events the grape would not exist at all! Eighty-four years ago, in 1925, Professor Abraham Perold planted in his garden in Stellenbosch the hybrid seeds resulting from a crossing of Pinot Noir and Hermitage grapes He could not have anticipated that this act would forever be part of South Africa’s wine history, eventually growing to become an unique selling point around the world.

Professor Perold was a fascinating and brilliant character himself, a fourth generation descendant from a French prisoner of war who arrived in 1814. Due to his early academic achievements, Perold received a bursary (scholarship) to study overseas, receiving a PhD in Chemistry in 1904 at a university in Germany. Appointed first as a professor at the University of Cape Town, the Cape Government soon sent him overseas to collect grape varieties which could be established locally. He returned with 177 varieties which formed the core of a collection still in existence at the University of Stellenbosch’s experimental nursery. Perold was appointed as the first professor of Viticulture at Stellenbosch and later became Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture at the University.

Unfortunately, prior to his death, he left no notes explaining his reasoning for crossing two well established French varieties, Pinot Noir, the noblest red grape of Burgundy, with Hermitage, a workhorse variety of the Rhone valley. The cross produced only four seeds which were planted in 1925 in his own garden, not the University’s nursery, perhaps to keep them under his personal care. In 1927, however, when Professor Perold left the University for a position a hour north, his former residence was unoccupied for a time and the garden unattended. A young college lecturer, Dr. Charlie Niehaus, by chance bicycled by the day workmen were spading up the garden and saved the four seedlings. The seedlings were replanted in the nursery at Elsenburg Agricultural College by Prof CJ Theron.

Fortuitously, in 1935 the Pinotage scion wood was grafted onto the new Richter rootstocks, narrowly missing being grafted to older rootstock material that proved to be virus infected and were later destroyed. Prof Theron showed the four grafted vines to Prof Perold and Perold was very enthusiastic about the possibilities of the new variety. At that stage the crossing was still merely known as “Perold’s Hermitage x Pinot”, but the name Pinotage, a derivative from its breeding parents, was clinched by Perold and Theron. (Fortunately, they did not choose “Herminot.”) One of these grafts performed markedly better than the rest and was eventually selected to become the mother material of all Pinotage vines.

It appears the first experimental vineyard of Pinotage was established at Elsenburg College, since C T de Waal, then a lecturer at Elsenburg and later considered to be one of the greatest red wine authorities ever, made the first Pinotage wine in small casks there during 1941. Since grapes are harvested and fermented to wine in the early months of the year, It seems likely that Prof. Perold would have know of the success of his unique hybrid before his passing on November 12, 1941 at age 61.

Thus Pinotage was born, narrowly survived repeated opportunities at a premature demise, nurtured to adulthood by agricultural academics and a single vine has proven the source for all Pinotage vines in commercial production today. Quite a recent and well documented history in a field where the origins of most grapes have been lost forever. So it is now our pleasure and responsibility to share this marvelous wine with the world.

Where our wine is available in the US

We anticipate being able to add 4-6 additional states when the 2009 vintage becomes available at the end of the 3rd Quarter of 2010. Thank you for your patience.

South Atlantic’s European Marketing Team

No matter how good the wine is, how fascinating its history, and how reasonable the cost, wine cannot sell itself. Somebody must present it, be able to explain in detail the product’s origin and attributes, and facilitate the delivery of orders to customers. For these reasons, we have started building a sales and marketing team in Northern Europe as well as in the USA.

FINLAND

In 2001, Dave traveled to Helsinki, Finland, and recruited a South African-born, now Finnish permanent resident, Ms. Violetta Teetor, to market RSA wines in Scandinavia. In addition to multiple language skills, including eloquence in both Afrikaans and English, Violetta has a superb palate for wine, boundless energy, and sales enthusiasm. After attending her first CapeWine event in April 2002 in Paarl, she returned to Finland to become a licensed wholesaler and to represent numerous Cape wineries. Violetta sells to largely to top hotels, restaurants and corporate accounts, and larger chain orders are in the offing. It is very clear that an opportunistic yet strategic approach to international wine marketing is both cost effective and the best way to introduce South African wines to distant but profitable markets. Violetta may be contacted directly at www.violandrewines.net.

Below Violetta is shown the highest planted Pinotage site at SILKBUSH by Anton Roos, Vineyard General Manager and Director.

RUSSIA

In August 2007, South Atlantic Wines opened its Moscow office, headed by Renat Akhounov, Director, Eastern European Business Development. Renat attended American University in Paris, France, holds dual citizenship (in Russia, where he was born, and in the US, where he starred as a soccer player and graduated from Tamalpais High School, Mill Valley, CA, where his mother lived), and is well spoken in both demanding languages.

Renat has been living in Moscow for a number of years and is anxious to expose high quality South African and other wines to his fellow countrymen. Additionally, he received a degree in Music Production and Sound Engineering from the California Recording Institute, in San Francisco. Renat is also a Certified Personal Trainer and Dietologist, and has worked as a disc jockey and chef. Clearly he is a man with multiple interests, but growing career interests in wine, food, and healthy living. Renat may be contacted at renat@southatlanticwines.com.

Renat Akhounov at White Oak Winery, Alexander Valley, Sonoma County, California

Representing other South African wineries overseas

Frequently, RSA wineries want a US importer to take on all US sales responsibilities, including credit evaluation of wholesalers and payment assurances. Moreover, what has always been clear, few RSA wineries can afford to send people overseas to pioneer in the United States, Canada, or the Caribbean resorts. At 6 - 8 Rand or more to the Dollar, RSA wines are price competitive but overseas travel, lodging and entertainment expenses paid in Dollars are tough to swallow for most South Africans. Further, the time zone changes, jet lag fatigue, and simply not "knowing the territory" are major hurdles for Western Cape based wine sales people. (It's also not the "united” states when it comes to regulation of beverage alcohol, but more like dealing with 50 foreign countries.) Nevertheless, people with wine growing and production knowledge in both the States and the Capewinelands are best at representing honestly and accurately what wholesalers, retailers, and consumers need to know about South African wine. Accordingly, it became increasingly apparent that Dave, Anton, and their colleagues represent a unique combination of skills and experience of value to businesses on both ends of international wine marketing transactions.

Because most South African winery owners and marketing directors are more comfortable speaking Afrikaans than English, we believe initial contact regarding overseas marketing will frequently be made with Anton. If a quality brand at fair and reasonable pricing is available, the ball will be passed to Dave if the winery wants to engage Silkbush's assistance.

We expect to add additional wineries that are interested in engaging SILKBUSH's agency services on multi-year agency contracts as additional distributors are identified. Agency fees are payable by wineries to SILKBUSH when the exporting wineries have received 100% cash payment for their shipments to North America. Those wineries or importers that wish to explore the possibilities in greater detail should contact either Dave Jefferson (in California) or Anton Roos (in the Breede River Valley) at their respective email addresses. Some distributors wish to deal with established labels and others are more interested in private label programs; each relationship will likely have to be as handcrafted as the wines are themselves.

Required procedures for sending wine to the US

Other than the invoice valuation, the first two paragraphs apply whether your shipment is a case of samples or a container of cases. Obviously the last paragraph in not applicable once your winery is shipping commercial quantities.

1. A commercial invoice must be given to the Carrier upon pickup of the wine. The invoice must contain the following information:
   • A detailed description of all wine (i.e. color, bottle size, varietal, vintage)
   • A monetary Value for each wine. The invoice must state “Value for customs purposes only, not for resale” (We see most producers using roughly USD$2/750ml) The importer will be responsible for any US excise taxes payable but there usually are none for reasonable quantities of samples.
   • The importer FDA registration number; South Atlantic Wine’s is:12740870780
   • The importer federal import permit number; SAW’s is: CA-I-4356
     (Our CA importer license number is: 406517)
   • The exporting winery’s FDA registration number. If you do not have an FDA registration number, you can obtain one for free at www.fda.gov, but be prepared to spend about an hour in the process.
2. The exporting winery, or its agent, must file a Prior Notice of Arrival with the FDA when the wine is sent. This is IMPORTANT. There may be severe penalties for anything shipped into the country without a prior notice of arrival.
3. All bottles must have labels that state “Samples only/Not for Resale” and “Contains Sulfites.” Especially if you are shipping finished and labeled wines, additional wine labels with this information need to be affixed. Any bottles that do not have these labels will either be returned to the shipper or destroyed by Customs. (Either way the samples may not arrive, the exporting winery is out the courier costs, and then they must do it over again.)

Please contact us if you need further details.