Dombeya/Haskell Vineyards rated most promising winery In SA

by Grant Dodd

An interesting survey taken recently amongst South Africa’s leading wine writers, commentators and retailers came up with a list of the country’s top 20 producers and best wines.

Such lists are always subjective, but few would argue with the assertion that Sadie,Kanonkop and Boekenhootskloof rightfully occupy the top echelon.

Another question was asked, that being which producers are on the cusp of cracking the Top 20 in years to come. We were pleased to see that Dombeya/Haskell Vineyards was ranked at the top of this list.

There is an old saying in the wine game that it takes a decade to become an overnight success. We’ve still got a long way to go, but sometimes we have to remind ourselves that it was only five years ago that we started in earnest with our first wines in bottle.

The mantra’s of growth and profit that are extolled by public companies to their shareholders create the impression that the same business principles can be applied to the wine industry. Some can, but in most cases the laws of agriculture with their unpredictable and often cruelly capricious outcomes override all else.

And in the case of the wine industry, you can add funereal time frames and stock holding practices to your business plan that make this game like no other in the ‘food’ production industry.

Nonetheless, we love it, warts and all. We’ve taken no shortcuts along the way, practices that have hurt the bottom line but which have been in no small part responsible for the recognition that we are now receiving.

We’ll keep doing it the same way. Don’t fix what ain’t broke- a simple mantra but spoken by a wise man, we thinks.


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