The TOPS at SPAR Wine Show is a travelling ‘try-and-buy’ wine show, which takes some of South Africa’s top wines to seven cities around the country. This year the show has undertaken to push this even further, and is promising to deliver not just wine, but a Cape Winelands experience.
“Six of the seven cities visited by the TOPS at SPAR Wine Show are located outside of the Cape, and this year, the customer experience we are aiming to deliver is one which allows our guests to experience the beautiful landscapes of the winelands, drink in the rich aromas, meet the colourful characters and, most of all, indulge in our globally celebrated wines. At the same time, the show is the ideal platform to showcase wine tourism and to support the industry holistically,” says Shon Kumar, co-owner of the TOPS at SPAR Wine Show.
Kumar adds, “We are encouraging people to visit the Winelands in a bid to educate them and get them closer to wine and wine lifestyle and the culture of pairing wine with food – not just drink wine. We’ll be also promoting the fact that there are nearly 20 different wine regions in South Africa – each very different in terroir and the wine they produce. And we’ll be promoting the ‘home grown and proudly South African’ angle to win the hearts and minds of consumers looking to expand into wine.”
The success of the show is evident in the growth experienced between 2018 and 2019*:
- 68% growth in number of bottles purchased/consumed
- 26% increase in visitor attendance
*These figures exclude Pretoria and East London, which were not part of the 2018 Tour.
One of the show’s popular features it its free ‘sip ‘n ship’ service, which is available for every full cases of wine purchased, and which has largely been attributed with the healthy sales figures recorded at the show.
Mark Robinson, The SPAR Group Liquor Manager, says, “With its refreshed identity and renewed enthusiasm for bringing you a taste of what the winelands has to offer you are guaranteed a quality wine experience! Following the success of the 2019 show, The SPAR Group will be expanding its presence to include a food element, which we’ll be launching at the Durban event.”
The WINEderland Tour takes place on the following dates:
- Durban: 7 to 9 May
- Johannesburg: 4 to 6 JuneCape Town: 9 to 11 July
- Port Elizabeth: 30 July to 1 August
- Pretoria: 1 to 3 October
- East London: 5 to 7 November
- Nelspruit: 26 to 28 November
For more information or to book your stand contact Heinrich Wielligh on 082 812 1112 or visit www.wineshow.co.za.
