Nederburg has been included in the highly-anticipated top 50 list of ‘The World’s Most Admired Wine Brands’ by UK-based publication, Drinks International, for a fourth consecutive year in 2019.
The Paarl winery is one of only two South African wine brands to appear on this year’s top 50 list, selected by over 200 of some of the most renowned names in the global wine industry, and strengthened by the expertise of well-known specialist wine market research and consultancy firm, Wine Intelligence, that helped conduct the 2019 survey.
The results were announced last night during a special, by-invitation-only awards evening at the luxurious Steigenberger Park Hotel in Düsseldorf in Germany. The ceremony also served as the inaugural party for ProWein 2019, known as the world’s top international trade fair for wine and spirits, which concludes on 19 March.
In 47th position, the achievement puts Nederburg, one of the most dynamic brands in the newly-formed Libertas Vineyards and Estates portfolio, in the company of several very famous wine brands. Amongst the luminaries on the list are Australia’s Penfolds, Spain’s Torres, New Zealand’s Villa Maria, Chile’s Concho Y Toro, and French icon M. Chapoutier.
According to Drinks International, to make it into the international line-up of the top 50 wine brands, demands consistent or improving quality; a reflection of region or country of origin; a responsiveness to the needs and tastes of target audiences; excellent marketing and packaging; and a strong appeal to a wide demographic.
Niël Groenewald, MD of Nederburg says: “What an honour for Nederburg to be featured, for a fourth time in a row, in this esteemed international list of top global wine brands! We are delighted by this news and especially thankful to our viticulture and winemaking teams for their zealous focus on innovation, not merely for the sake of newness but to see how they can continually improve what they do. They continue to explore new wine growing areas, plant new vines, and trial new cultivars, blends and techniques to maintain Nederburg’s name as the byword in South African wine excellence. It’s their adventurous spirit and sense of curiosity that drives them to keep discovering and experimenting.”
Jackie Olivier, Nederburg’s global marketing manager remarks: “Such high-level affirmation for Nederburg is a major boost for us. Over the past few years, we’ve been hard at work in building Nederburg’s global brand presence and appeal in key markets by introducing new innovative wines and securing new listings, an exciting global communications campaign for which we’ve won a variety of awards, and our alignment with pro-cycling via our sponsorship of Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka, the first African cycling team to race in the iconic Tour de France.
“We are not resting on our laurels, though. We are geared to continue taking Nederburg to the next level. Over the coming months and years we’ll be rolling out some new brand aspects to entice wine consumers worldwide to keep on discovering Nederburg and its many facets and stories.”
Nederburg’s success as one of South Africa’s most lauded names in wine is built on a rich history and tradition of winemaking excellence spanning more than 200 years. Currently, multi-talented cellar-master Andrea Freeborough leads the team of highly-skilled winemakers. She trained as both a viticulturist and winemaker and combines finely-honed technique with a keen appetite for innovation.
The winery prides itself on its ability to produce both specialty and popular wines. It grows its own grapes, but also sources fruit from a long-standing network of supplier growers across the Cape, giving it access to excellent quality grapes. Its cellar is designed to simultaneously produce connoisseur and mainstream wines for export to more than 80 countries across the world. Nederburg was one of the first South African wine brands to enter the international market, and has been trading in Germany for over three decades.
Over the years, Nederburg has won many other leading international and local wine titles and awards. These include most successful South African producer at the International Wine & Spirit Competition, Platter’s South African Wine Guide ‘Winery of the Year’, and Diners Club ‘Winemaker of the Year’, amongst others.
