Getwine is the canary in the coal mine of SA wine retail. I spoke to Johan Wegner about wine deals in the Financial Mail at the end of September.

Q: How are wine prices looking this year?

A:According to Wines of South Africa (Wosa), exports to the United Kingdom alone dropped by more than 40 percent in 2010/11. Not ideal for the producer, but fantastic for us, retailing to the South-African end-consumer. These export wines are currently dumped onto the local market and therefore forcing wine prices down.

Q: With exports under pressure, are there any special deals around for local drinkers?

A:Plenty! At the moment we are experiencing the biggest volumes of excess wine in South Africa ever, resulting in distributors and wine farms approaching us on a daily basis to promote and sell their wines online. We find ourselves in the fortunate position of being spoilt for choice, which allows us to keep the quality of the wines we offer of a very high standard.

Q: Your pick of the whites on offer?

A:Over the last two years there have been a tremendous swing from Sauvignon Blanc to Chenin Blanc, I think some consumers prefer the more palatable Chenin Blanc’s rather than the more acidic Sauvignon’s. My choices would be Adi Badenhorst’s Secateurs Chenin Blanc and the Remhoogte Chenin Blanc.

Q: Any value bubblies?

A: The one product line that we don’t often get deals on is the Methode Cap Classique’s. My favourite SA MCC is the Simonsig Kaapse Vonkel.

Q: What about rosé ?

A:I feel the SA Rosé market is not growing on par with the rest of the world. The De Grendel Rosé is fantastic!

Q: Dessert wines?

A: Noble Late Harvest’s are the talk of the town! If you get them, buy them!

Q: Reds?

A: Red wine is ever popular, we don’t see a drop in red wine sales even it the hottest summer months. My three favouritered wines for this season, in price categories, would be Remhoogte Aigle Noir (R51), Raka Biography Shiraz (R89) and Vrede & Lust Boet Erasmus (R109).