Under the Influence Podcast #10 | Mike Ratcliffe | Building wine brands and the future of SA wine

What an absolute privilege to have the Sage of Stellenbosch, the Oracle of Oakleaf (and Vilafonté) soil in our Cellar Studio talking about fine wine brands, sustainability, and the future of South Africa wine. Mike Ratcliffe!

Mike is one of the gents that gave me a very early head start and mentorship in the wine industry with his Rootstock movement. He is deeply involved and influential in the global wine industry. Mike is founder and Managing Director of the joint US/South African luxury wine venture Vilafonté since 2002. Mike is Chairman of Stellenbosch Wine and also Chairman of the Visit Stellenbosch tourism body. He has been nominated twice for the USA Wine Star Award for Global Innovator of the Year in 2015 and 2017. Mike is founding Trustee of the Cape Wine Auction, Africa’s premiere fund-raiser contributing significantly to supporting education. Mike is a founding member of the YPO Wine Network which has 4724 members making it the biggest social network in YPO. Mike is a founding member of the YPO Wine Network, sits on the International board and has been Africa Regional Chairman of the Wine Network since 2010.

TIMESTAMPS
01:25 South African wine has a marketing challenge.
03:00 What does success look like for South African wine?
04:20 We make a lot of great wine, but in small volumes.
05:05 In order to be successful you need to be sustainable.
07:00 At the moment South Africa’s top wines get consumed locally.
08:00 We need wine grape farmers to be rewarded for quality.
09:55 Quality has improved immensely in the last 12 years.
13:00 Specialisation of farming and wine by design.
14:25 Art versus business pragmatism in wine.
18:25 Are we under investing in sales and marketing in SA wine?
20:35 We are lacking focus in sales and marketing.
21:00 Do business where you want to visit, with people you like, and go often.
22:00 Building depth rather than breadth. Focus.
26:20 As a country SA is becoming more specialised and focused.
28:30 Taking the reins at Warwick and building scale.
32:20 Golden threads in Mike’s brand building philosophy.
35:00 Creating stories around brands.
42:00 Who are you and what do you stand for as a brand?
44:30 Building authentic South Africa luxury wine brands at scale.
48:30 We need to have more confidence in our wines as a country.
49:30 Recognition of SA wines has never been higher.
52:30 What does success look like in the future for SA wine?