Sweet 16 RMB WineX announces Top Sellers, Best Cellars and Best Wines on Show

Sweet 16 RMB WineX announces Top Sellers, Best Cellars and Best Wines on Show
published on:

RMB WineX has come and gone, sweeping all (including the Eco Mobility Festival) before it. 2015 was the wine show's 16th edition, bringing around 150 exhibitors to the Sandton Convention Centre for the three days of the show.

Despite fears that the EcoMobility Festival would put a dampener on the event – believed to be the largest wine show in the Southern Hemisphere – the mood in the room was buoyant throughout with the attendance of 9 000 visitors over the three day period.

With 779 different wines on show and 30 different varietal and style categories - including 60 Shirazes, 72 Chardonnays, 55 Sparklings and 40 Rosés – and great Shop@Show prices, Jozi wine lovers could fill their cellars ahead of the festive season and also vote for their Best Wines on Show.

Best Selling Wines:
Wine lovers responded with admirable determination to the Shop@Show purchasing opportunity offered by the longest-running Jozi wine festival. In spite of the weakened economy, exhibitor sales matched the 2014 purchases of R3.6m. The top Shop@Show sellers at RMB WineX 2015 were the following:
By volume (most number of bottles sold):
1st place: Raka Quinary 2012
2nd place: Rupert & Rothschild Classique 2013
3rd place: De Toren La Jeunesse Delicate NV
The best-selling wine by value was the Meerlust Rubicon 2010. Meerlust, Springfield, De Toren and Rupert & Rothschild were theoverall top sellers.

Best White Wine on Show:
1st place: Fleur du Cap Noble Late Harvest 2013
2nd place: Vrede en Lust Jess 2015
3rd place: Vrede en Lust Casey’s Ridge Early Mist Riesling 2015
Other wines making the Top 10 Best White listing (in alphabetical order): Fleur du Cap Bergkelder Selection Chardonnay 2014, Haute Cabrière Chardonnay Pinot Noir 2015, Krone Night Nectar Demi-Sec 2014, Nederburg Heritage Heroes Beautiful Lady 2015, Seven Sisters Yolanda 2014, Vrede en Lust Casey’s Ridge White Mischief 2015 and Vrede en Lust Casey’s Ridge Sauvignon Blanc 2015.

Best Red Wine on Show:
1st place: Klipperskloof Shiraz 2011
2nd place: Vrede en Lust Boet Erasmus 2012
3rd place: Rupert & Rothschild Baron Edmond 2012
Other wines making the Top 10 Best Red listing (in alphabetical order): Diemersfontein Carpe Diem Malbec 2014, Diemersfontein Pinotage 2014, Meerlust Rubicon 2010, Rupert & Rothschild Classique 2013, Vilafonté Series M 2012, Vrede en Lust Pinot Noir 2014 and Vrede en Lust Syrah 2011.

Said Michael Fridjhon, director of RMB WineX: “Nothing better reflects the quality of the WineX audience than the hard numbers emerging from the Shop@Show figures. When Meerlust Rubicon continues to dominate the value side of the wine transactions, and Meerlust together with Springfield, De Toren and Rupert & Rothschild are the most successful brands, it is clear that WineX is the pre-eminent fine wine environment in South Africa. The Best Wine on Show ballot has its own dynamic, revealing that some producers are more adept than others at working the voters.

This year's theme “The Art of Wine” inspired a parallel exhibition of wine-related works of art at the show. Ranging from Tokara's Wine-Made Art (pictures painted withTokara Shiraz) via Artist Proof Studio's hand-made prints to Frans Groenewald's cards and illustrations, this craft component served to remind everyone how much of a “hand-made” product wine really is.

There were 18 Table Talk Pop-Up tastings (in association with Moneyweb) with winemakers, 80 works of art, and more than 21 500 bottles of Nestlé Pure Life water consumed. R10 000 wasraised for Pebbles by Alcohol Breathalysers’ contributions. Gautrain added an extra three services per night to each of its destinations from Sandton, making it easier for wine enthusiasts from as far afield as Tshwane and the East Rand to travel home safely after the show.

Talita Engelbrecht of Hamilton Russell Vineyards, RMB WineX exhibitor since the show’s inception in 2000, commented: “The quality of producers you had taking part this year really set the tone for aserious wine affair”.

The dates for next year’s RMB WineX are 26 to 28 October 2016.


  +27.218433587       +27.218433274       shop@meerlust.co.za
Meerlust Estate Baden Powell Drive P.O. Box 7121 , Stellenbosch, 7599, South Africa