The defining feature of the South African on-premise wine market is the extremely high market penetration of best-selling wine brands. At least one of top 3 market leaders across still wine blends in the on-premise are represented in more than 38% of restaurants. In the US, either of three most popular wine brands is present 12% of accounts, and in the UK this metric corresponds to just 3%.

In South Africa, wine consumption is not limited to the white minority. Since the 1960s, cheap wine brands have been marketed towards the Black and Coloured (a distinctive group of mixed origin) population. A survey from 1965 found that 37% of Afrikaans-speaking and 31% of English-speaking whites preferred wine as a drink of choice. In contrast, among the Coloured population who weren’t teetotalers, 78% of urban and 87% of rural population indicated wine as their alcoholic beverage of preference. The Black population, however, strongly preferred traditional malted millet beer, with only 6.5% choosing wine.^[1]

To counteract negative publicity connected with the Apartheid legacy, many producers adopted the Fairtrade certification to improve their public appearance. However, there are reports that the country’s wine industry at least partly remains problematic.^[2] It is also reported that Black-owned wine brands constitute only about 1% of South African wine, and only 3% of vineyards are owned by Black families.^[3]

It was sweeter styles of wine that has been marketed towards the non-white population since the 1960s. Red wine was perceived as something of higher status than white wine. The most popular alcohol brand in the country, 4th Street, is a range of sweeter-style wines distributed mainly in bag-in-boxes.^[4] On the other hand, in some Black communities wine is still stigmatized, and it may be unacceptable for certain Black women to buy wine. “Black Diamonds”, a cohort of the emerging Black middle class, is viewed as a prospective target market for domestic wines.^[5]

Only 34% of domestic wine sales correspond to wine in glass bottles, while account for bag-in-boxes account for 48%. As of 2024, dry still unfortified wine accounts for only 17% of total volume.^[6]

With the abundance of inexpensive wine marketed for domestic consumption, winemakers who want to sell abroad need to obtain an export license and a certificate from the Wine and Spirit Board that requires passing a tasting evaluation and laboratory analysis.^[7]