Accolade adds premium South African Pinotage to Kumala Reserve range

Accolade Wines has added a premium Pinotage to its South African wine brand, Kumala  priced at £8, which the company said would give consumers an opportunity to trade up.

David White, marketing director at Accolade Wines said 64% of consumers often or sometimes drank wine from South Africa, and that there was a “thirst” for the country’s indigenous grape varietal.

“Our research has shown that there’s a real thirst for it with 49% of British wine drinkers open to trying it and wanting to know more about the varietal,” he said. “As the No 1 South African wine brand, Kumala offers consumers a greater level of security and the confidence to move between different wine styles.”

He noted that South African wine industry was undergoing a “challenging time”, but said Kumala was outperforming the market, seeing year-on-year volume growth of 56.2% (according to Nielsen Scantrack data 12 w/e 10.08.19].

“We are investing in the UK’s leading brand to continue to bring South African wines and new varietals such as Pinotage to the table. It is a great opportunity for the trade to respond to engaged wine consumers who are growing the market,” adds David White.

Last year the company launched a £1million investment in the brand with its ‘Keep it Kolourful’ advertising campaign, which ran across digital, outdoor, print and in-store platforms and was designed to highlight the “vibrancy and energy of South Africa”. The continued investment shows the company’s commitment to its South African portfolio, it said.

Kumala Reserve Pinotage  has been listed by Morrisons from September.

The 2019 wine grape harvest in South Africa is expected to hit its lowest level since 2005 due to the after-effects of a three-year drought, the country’s industry body VinPro announced in May, despite good rainfall during the 2018-19 growing season.