African Wines a Hit in Singapore - Brief Article

When South African winemakers or distributors walk down a row of old Chinese shopfront stores in Singapore's historic Chinatown district, they stop in. amazement. "Great wines of Africa," the sign says. Inside, the visitors are likely to be even more astonished as they smell spicy farmhouse sausages sizzling on the barbecue and see Chinese, Malays, Indians and Eurasians knowingly sipping the best wines that Cape Town has to offer.

"We've got more than 200 labels," says manager Lisa Dennewell. She's from Africa and has been running the wine bar for two years.

She's usually got company from home. Last month, Johan Kriege and Beyers Truter, the two men of genius behind the noted Kanonkop estate, held a highly successful tasting in Mama Africa.

The bar opened two years ago when garment and food importer Sebastian Tan returned from a trip with a lust for South African produce. He found a bar, decorated it with stuffed crocodiles, tribal art and buffalo heads, stocked it with the best wine he could import, hired a talented young chef and it's been a success ever since.

It also had a serious impact on the pattern of South African food and wine imports. Over the bar, wines like Bellingham flow like water at fair prices to appreciative sippers.

In the cellar, stacked floor to ceiling with only South African blends, customers buy 600 bottles a week for take-out trade. Direct sales to hotels, restaurants and customers who buy in bulk push the total up.

There's little price resistance to paying up to US$60 for top South African wines. The financial district is a stroll away and the wine bar is filled with prosperous suits during the day.

At night, the tourists take over, the jungle drums get louder and while the bills get smaller, there are a lot more of them. A good glass of reasonable wine at a fair price can be $5.

The crowd is eclectic, from Japanese executives to Australian backpackers, and, of course, almost any South African who wants a taste of home.

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