Driven by surging demand for bulk wine, SA is looking to grow total exports to a record 500m litres in 2013, almost 100m litres more than the record set in 2012.

SA’s wine industry put the brakes on sliding exports in 2012, lifting volume 18% in the 12 months to November.

SA’s new generation of  sommeliers faces a challenge, says  Hilary Prendini  Toffoli.  Is this elite  group going the  same way as fine dining?

I am sitting here, at my desk, looking at a thing of beauty. I can’t write. I can’t make calls.

To most, SA’s Western Cape is synonymous with the wine lands. But the area means more than just afternoons of wine-tasting in the mountains, the industry is an important part of the global wine industry.

Another round of consolidation is expected in the liquor industry. Marc Hasenfuss investigates the implications.