News

Winemakers can learn the latest about the growing No- & Low-alcohol wine market at the Sauvignon Blanc South Africa Technical Seminar, which will be held in collaboration with platinum partner EVER Solutions and Top 10 title partner FNB on Wednesday 22 November 2023, at Allée Bleue in Franschhoek.

Experts from South Africa and Italy will share local and global industry insights. The programme includes the following:

• RJ Botha, Chairperson of Sauvignon Blanc SA, will talk about the association’s activities, preceded by its Annual General Meeting
• Emanuele Bartolucci, Export Manager of EVER srl, Italy, will discuss stabilisation solutions, as well as balancing lower-in-alcohol wines
• Paolo Capra, Commercial Director of EVER srl, Italy, will explain the use of fumaric acid in winemaking
• Dr. Carien Coetzee of Basic Wine will present options for the production of low-alcohol wines
• Gustav Fouché, Managing Director of BevZero in South Africa, will explain alcohol taxation as well as de-alcoholisation fundamentals and technology, and
• There will be two wine tastings, focusing on fumaric acid and lower alcohol, as well as an informal tasting of the 2023 FNB Sauvignon Blanc SA Top 20 finalists.

This "must-attend" annual seminar, according to RJ Botha, Chairperson of Sauvignon Blanc SA, keeps winemakers up to date on international trends and techniques and encourages them to try new things.

"The no- and low-alcohol market continues to grow around the world, with consumer trends, government requirements, and technological advances as the main drivers," says Botha. “This year, we are hosting a lower-alcohol workshop, as we still need to learn to successfully navigate barriers in this market such as taste, price, pack format, and availability.”

Pre-registration at https://sauvignonblanc.com/technical/ is compulsory (by Friday 17 November 2023). The registration fee is R1000.00 for members and R1 200.00 for non-members (tea/coffee, lunch and wine tastings included). The programme starts at 07:40 for 08:15 and ends at 14:00 at Allée Bleue in Simondium near Franschhoek.

For more information or to join Sauvignon Blanc SA as a member, e-mail reinette@sauvignonblanc.com or call 082 808 1114.

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