3 minute read
West Cape – Estonia
There is a twenty years lasting relationship between West Cape and South Africa. Since the company discovered the Aaldering wines they import them to Estonia. On this page we have a face to face with Vaho Klaamann, owner of West Cape OÜ in Tallinn, Estonia.
Advertisement
“M y first visit to South Africa was in 1991, so I was well aware of the high quality of the wines that were produced in this country. Therefore, it was sad to see what was available in our shops at home. Together with some friends, we decided to make another visit to South Africa and put together a container of wines. We started as private persons, and as such shipped four containers before establishing our own wine company, West Cape. Today I am preparing our 25th container to be shipped in about a month. Our current selection consists of around 350 wines from over 30 producers, and our average stock is somewhere around 20,000 bottles. Probably one of the best South African wine selections outside of South Africa, but still with zero employees and no physical shops. Everything is managed via our web shop: www.westcape.net.”
How is wine looked upon in Estonia? Is it, like in many countries, a daily need?
“Wine has become an essential part of our food culture; many families have a bottle or two with their dinner, and during the summer holidays with their lunch as well. So an annual consumption of 300-500 bottles per family is a pretty realistic estimation.”
Why have you chosen the Aaldering wines?
“It’s all about people. We never select wines at big wine fairs or trade events, we prefer visiting vineyards and meeting people. We want to see how they are operating, and what their values are and their winemaking philosophy. If there is a click, we will start doing business – assuming that the wines are good, of course. With regard to Aaldering, I was introduced to their former winemaker. He invited me to visit the estate and it didn’t take long for us to start importing Aaldering wines.”
Is there a favourite among your customers?
“Aaldering Florence Barrel Selection is one of our bestsellers. It is very good value for money, and is also often used by companies as a promotional gift, or for customer events. New vintages often sell better than the older ones – even when these wines need ageing.”
How are your customers reacting to the Aaldering wines?
“When customers are buying a certain type of wine for the first time, they usually don’t remember who produced it. If they like this wine, they rate it in Vivino and look for familiar labels when ordering a next time. To me, marketing wines and creating brand awareness is a bit like how things go in the music industry. If you hear a nice song on the radio, you don’t necessarily know the artist’s name. But when you find out that they have released another good song, you may google the artist, download some of their albums and then realise that their other songs are good as well. And if you then become a fan, you will listen to everything they produce. Every wine producer therefore needs some good “icebreaking wines” to open the door to their entire portfolio. So far Pinotage Blanc and Lady M have been the two high-class wines that make Aaldering stand out from other producers. But the limited edition of the Pinotage Rosé Woman of the World appears to be a strong contender as well.”
