I’ve been attending ProWein for many years and this year I was particularly looking forward to it for a few reasons. Leopard’s Leap won a beautiful award at Mundus Vini that I was to receive, our new wine tourism experience at La Motte has been introduced and I wanted to share the news and while it is always topical, the 2025 edition of ProWein had an interesting new food and wine concept to explore. But even though for me Prowein 2025 did not work out as planned, it still gave me much to think about.
I feel like I have been in the wine business all my life. I grew up between vineyards, studied winemaking and have been working with wine in some capacity or another for my entire career. But wine is not a product that lives in isolation. Because I have been involved with wine, I was involved with food and when I saw ProWein’s focus on food and wine pairing, I realised that although there is nothing new about finding the best food and wine combination or just enjoying your meal with a glass of wine, this obvious aspect and attribute of wine might be the USP we need in a time when wine consumption is under pressure due to a number of reasons – from consumers being more health focused to younger generations choosing to abstain.
How often do we see beer and food photography, spirits and food pairings or cocktail and canapé suggestions? Of course, there are a few, but wine has a much closer association with food than any of its alcoholic counterparts. When we came up with our Culinaria Collection of wines at Leopard’s Leap, traditional French styles and their ability to accompany food served as inspiration. We found that France’s growing areas weren’t only focused on specific wine grape varieties and styles of wine, but also on certain ingredients and dishes. Take for instance the famous, classic Beouf Bourguignon stew from Burgundy that celebrates the area’s exceptional produce – red wine (Pinot Noir) and Charolais beef. (Read more). France’s rich and long-established tradition of gastronomy might be the reason why the association between food and wine is so powerful.
I love the innovative ways of wine tourism extending far beyond the dinner table, but it is when it is combined with food that the story of wine finds its core. We might start with terroir and tradition, explore science in the cellar and trends in our marketing, we can use wine as part of a skincare routine and even paint with Pinotage, but what I love most about wine is that it brings people together and more often than not, that human connection happens around a table with food and wine.
Forgive me for being a little nostalgic this week. My reason for not attending Prowein was that my father was gravely ill just before I had to leave and he then passed away a few days later. He had a rich and remarkable 91 years that we celebrated this week, but his love for the land, for farming and especially for vineyards and vegetable gardens ensured that some of my earliest and fondest memories were about our family enjoying our own produce. We knew all about terroir, seasonality, local produce and veld to fork long before they were called by these names. It is because of my dad’s love for growing food and my mom’s creativity in the kitchen that conscious consumption, whether it means sustainability or moderation, is part of our food and wine philosophy. Therefore, I still enjoy gathering loved ones around a table, serving a good meal and without too much concern, a beautiful glass or two of wine.