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	<title>Design News &#187; Food</title>
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		<title>Getting to know Liandra Kotzé, Vinimark’s Brand Portfolio Director</title>
		<link>https://designnews.co.za/getting-to-know-liandra-kotze-vinimarks-brand-portfolio-director/</link>
		<comments>https://designnews.co.za/getting-to-know-liandra-kotze-vinimarks-brand-portfolio-director/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 22 Jun 2026 10:26:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Design News]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Food]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lifestyle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Liandra Kotze]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Vinimark]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://designnews.co.za/?p=10873</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When Liandra Kotzé joined Vinimark as Brand Portfolio Director at the start of 2026, she brought more than 25 years of experience in the wine industry, spanning finance, brand strategy, commercial leadership and customer marketing. But beyond her extensive industry experience, Liandra brings a thoughtful perspective on where South African wine stands today and where it needs to go next. From evolving consumer expectations and innovation to the enduring power of storytelling in wine, we sat down with Liandra to learn more about the person behind the role, her vision for Vinimark’s portfolio and what she believes the South African wine industry needs to embrace to stay relevant. 1. Why did you want to join Vinimark? Vinimark represents some of the most respected and diverse wine brands in South Africa. What drew me in was the opportunity to work across such a powerful portfolio and to influence how these brands grow. After years of working within brand houses, the idea of shaping a portfolio at this scale, with a strong commercial lens and close connection to both producers and the trade, felt like a natural next step. Vinimark is also a business that understands the importance of relationships, a value [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Chenin Blanc: From workhorse to world stage</title>
		<link>https://designnews.co.za/chenin-blanc-from-workhorse-to-world-stage/</link>
		<comments>https://designnews.co.za/chenin-blanc-from-workhorse-to-world-stage/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 01 Jun 2026 10:18:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Design News]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Food]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lifestyle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Chenin Blanc]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Darling Cellars]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[DeMorgenzon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Spier Wine Farm]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Vinimark]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://designnews.co.za/?p=10860</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[South Africa’s most underestimated grape has become its greatest global statement For decades, Chenin Blanc was treated as an afterthought. It was the grape you planted for yield, not for legacy – cropped heavily, sent to co-ops, often destined for distillation. Reliable, yes. Respected, no. And yet, today, Chenin Blanc stands as South Africa’s defining varietal, not just locally, but on the global stage. It’s a wine of precision, place and potential. What changed was not the grape. It was the belief in what it could be. At Vinimark, we see this as one of South Africa’s most compelling wine stories. From workhorse to opportunity For much of its history, Chenin Blanc served a functional role in the industry. As Winemaker Anthony Sanvido of DeMorgenzon puts it, it was ‘the workhorse’, often cropped for volume and diverted to distillation. But that same history created an unexpected advantage. Many of South Africa’s most prized Chenin vineyards exist today because they were never replanted – and growers who couldn’t afford to replace them preserved what would become the backbone of the country’s old-vine movement. The real shift came in the 1990s. Winemakers like Ken Forrester began challenging convention by tasting together, sharing [...]]]></description>
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		<title>In 2025, Vinimark’s International team explored fresh frontiers for South African wine while adapting to shifts in the global market.</title>
		<link>https://designnews.co.za/in-2025-vinimarks-international-team-explored-fresh-frontiers-for-south-african-wine-while-adapting-to-shifts-in-the-global-market/</link>
		<comments>https://designnews.co.za/in-2025-vinimarks-international-team-explored-fresh-frontiers-for-south-african-wine-while-adapting-to-shifts-in-the-global-market/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 08 Dec 2025 07:34:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Design News]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Food]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Vinimark]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://designnews.co.za/?p=10721</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In 2025, Vinimark continued to explore fresh frontiers for South African wine while adapting to a global market that has become more competitive and more unpredictable. Even as conditions shifted, Vinimark felt a renewed sense of momentum. South Africa’s wine story continued to resonate beyond the country’s borders, and Vinimark leaned into that energy with purpose. This year marked an important evolution for Vinimark’s international portfolio  under its dynamic new director De Bruyn Steenkamp who took the reins in August 2024 with vision and verve. In tandem with Vinimark celebrating its 40th year and crystallising its position as a wine company that supports brand development and distribution, the team has expanded its focus beyond export logistics to support a growing portfolio and make its broader expertise and experience available to Vinimark’s Brand Partners. Significant new additions to the Vinimark International portfolio, such as Vilafonté and Kasteelberg, joined established global favourites including Krone, Reyneke, Barista and Robertson Wines. Together, these brands present a clear and compelling view of modern South African wine that blends heritage with innovation and authenticity. By the end of 2025, and with 2026 firmly in sight, Vinimark’s international offering was centred on curiosity, quality and long-term brand [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Vinimark named South Africa’s #1 wine distributor and top 3 alcohol distributor at 2025 Advantage Awards</title>
		<link>https://designnews.co.za/vinimark-named-south-africas-1-wine-distributor-and-top-3-alcohol-distributor-at-2025-advantage-awards/</link>
		<comments>https://designnews.co.za/vinimark-named-south-africas-1-wine-distributor-and-top-3-alcohol-distributor-at-2025-advantage-awards/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 24 Oct 2025 12:15:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Design News]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Food]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Vinimark]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://designnews.co.za/?p=10657</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Vinimark, South Africa’s leading independent wine distributor, has been named the number one wine distributor in the country and among the top three alcohol distributors overall at the 2025 Advantage Awards. The awards were presented during the Consumer Goods Council Summit 2025 at VodaWorld, Midrand on 8 October 2025. The recognition is based on retailers’ ratings in the annual Voice of Retail programme, and highlights Vinimark’s market leadership, operational excellence and strong partnerships across the trade. Vinimark was ranked in third position overall, alongside South Africa’s largest liquor distributors &#8211; South African Breweries (SAB), the country’s top beer and cider producer, and Edward Snell, a major spirits distributor.  Vinimark’s achievement is particularly remarkable, considering that it focuses exclusively on wine and select champagnes, including Champagne Bollinger and La Maison Pommery. Through this accolade, Vinimark has solidified its position as the country’s leading wine distributor and a key driver in the broader alcohol distribution market. ‘Being recognised as South Africa’s top wine distributor and one of the top three alcohol distributors is a tremendous honour,’ says Sales Director at Vinimark, Riaan Rautenbach. ‘Our rise, from being placed 12th in 2023, to 6th in 2024, and now 3rd overall in 2025, demonstrates [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Love of People: Mentorship and Diversity in the Wine Industry. From representation to real power.</title>
		<link>https://designnews.co.za/love-of-people-mentorship-and-diversity-in-the-wine-industry-from-representation-to-real-power/</link>
		<comments>https://designnews.co.za/love-of-people-mentorship-and-diversity-in-the-wine-industry-from-representation-to-real-power/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 15 Sep 2025 07:35:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Design News]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Food]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lifestyle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Vinimark]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wine]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://designnews.co.za/?p=10531</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Across the Cape Winelands, a quiet shift is gaining momentum, one rooted in mentorship, ownership and community development. It’s a shift that’s not just reshaping who gets to be part of the wine industry, but how they thrive within it. For too long, knowledge of wine was something passed around the same tables through informal apprenticeships, family networks, and closed-door connections. For many black South Africans, this meant not just exclusion from ownership, but exclusion from understanding: terroir, varietals, markets, culture. But change is happening, and mentorship is at the heart of it. Because wine, after all, isn’t learned in isolation. It’s passed hand to hand, cellar to cellar, harvest to harvest. And when mentorship is structured, intentional, and inclusive, it becomes a powerful bridge across the barriers that have long held the industry back. The results? Transformational, not just for individuals, but for the industry’s future. Phil Bowes, Manager of Inclusive Growth Strategies at SA Wine, shares that the sector now supports 107 black-owned wine brands, up by 50% in just ten years, alongside 81 black-owned farms spanning grape production, logistics, and retail. But more than the numbers, it’s the capability that’s grown: a generation of better technically equipped [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Nominate your #fav eatery, store or small business – they could win, and so could you!</title>
		<link>https://designnews.co.za/nominate-your-fav-eatery-store-or-small-business-they-could-win-and-so-could-you-2/</link>
		<comments>https://designnews.co.za/nominate-your-fav-eatery-store-or-small-business-they-could-win-and-so-could-you-2/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 20 Aug 2025 18:16:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Design News]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Food]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lifestyle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[V&ANeighbourhoodAwards]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://designnews.co.za/?p=10475</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Individual shopping preferences and retail statistics come together in resoundingly positive alignment at Cape Town’s V&#38;A Waterfront. Public testimonials consistently praise the destination as their favourite – its Victoria Wharf shopping centre has been ranked as the best mall in South Africa out of 13 malls by the Urban Studies Shopper Index (USSI) – while retail sales show that December 2024 was the V&#38;A Waterfront’s best sales month ever for this time of year. It follows that being named as this popular neighbourhood’s top store, restaurant or small business by those who shop and eat there is a desirable accolade indeed. Members of the public are invited to nominate their favourite eating and shopping destinations in the 2025 People’s Choice Award, which forms part of the annual V&#38;A Waterfront Neighbourhood Awards recognising and rewarding various aspects of retail excellence. ‘We acknowledge the importance of our visitors’ views and we want to know what they think,’ says V&#38;A Waterfront retail executive Alex Kabalin. ‘Through these three trophies in the People’s Choice Award, we’re giving our visitors the power to support and acknowledge the establishments that make their V&#38;A Waterfront experience a special one.’ One restaurant, one store and one small business [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Beyond the label: Building brands that live in people’s minds</title>
		<link>https://designnews.co.za/beyond-the-label-building-brands-that-live-in-peoples-minds/</link>
		<comments>https://designnews.co.za/beyond-the-label-building-brands-that-live-in-peoples-minds/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 23 Jul 2025 16:12:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Design News]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Food]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Vinimark]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://designnews.co.za/?p=10432</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[‘Products are made in factories, but brands are created in minds.’ Advertising executive Leo Burnett’s timeless insight has never rung truer, especially in the world of wine. In late May, Vinimark opened the doors of its premises in Klapmuts outside of Cape Town for a Packaging and Innovation Masterclass that brought together creatives, strategists and storytellers from across the wine world. The session, led by Vinimark’s Wine Training &#38;amp; Education Manager Ginette de Fleuriot, featured two provocateurs of design thinking: François Rey of graphic design studio Monday Design and Brenden Schwartz, co-founder of wine brand Orpheus &#38;amp; The Raven. Their message was clear: in a market that’s crowded, fast-moving and increasingly visual, it’s not only your grape variety, terroir, wine quality or awards that will set you apart. It’s your brand memory: the emotional connection your packaging, positioning and story create in a split second. The rise of the distinctive asset Walk into any bottle store and you’ll see it: shelf upon shelf of beautifully bottled ambition. But amid all that noise, only a few speak with clarity. Why? Because they’ve built what Schwartz called distinctive assets: visual cues that work harder than names, louder than labels. Think Nike’s swoosh, [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Design meets dining: where culinary moments are delivered and dished to perfection</title>
		<link>https://designnews.co.za/design-meets-dining-where-culinary-moments-are-delivered-and-dished-to-perfection/</link>
		<comments>https://designnews.co.za/design-meets-dining-where-culinary-moments-are-delivered-and-dished-to-perfection/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 06 Jun 2025 10:25:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Design News]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Décor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Food]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://designnews.co.za/?p=10320</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Interactive cooking demos, curated tastings, cool cafés and bars, trendsetting kitchens and more &#8211; the foodie experience at Decorex Cape Town and Joburg, organised by RX is hotter than ever. From beautifully curated homeware to fast, fresh flavour delivered straight to the stage, this year’s culinary lineup is all about style, substance and serious appetite appeal. Come and feast your senses from 5 to 8 June at the Cape Town International Convention Centre and from 24 to 27 July at the Sandton Convention Centre. Here&#8217;s what’s in store at the place where design meets delicious… @home Cooking Studio This year’s interactive Cooking Studio is proudly supported by leading homeware retailer @home. Powered by @home’s premium cookware and stylish serveware, this dynamic kitchen space is brought to life by Food Jams and built by Cami Space + Design. Mr D, South Africa’s most loved on-demand delivery App, will be delivering groceries that have been chosen from the Pick n Pay selection on the App, to the studio for the chefs to include in their recipes. Food prep is taken care of thanks to @home and the latest kitchen tech and appliances from Samsung, making every plate a celebration of innovation and [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>https://designnews.co.za/design-meets-dining-where-culinary-moments-are-delivered-and-dished-to-perfection/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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		<title>Swirl, sniff, sip AND story – how narrative makes wine mean more</title>
		<link>https://designnews.co.za/swirl-sniff-sip-and-story-how-narrative-makes-wine-mean-more/</link>
		<comments>https://designnews.co.za/swirl-sniff-sip-and-story-how-narrative-makes-wine-mean-more/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 22 May 2025 08:37:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Design News]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Food]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Vinimark]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wine]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://designnews.co.za/?p=10311</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Long before tasting rooms and Insta-worthy vineyards, there were people. Characters. Romances. Epic treks. And, yes, wine. It turns out that what’s in the bottle often starts with what’s on the page. Because the truth is, the more you know about a wine’s backstory, the more you feel connected to the glass in your hand. Take Laurens Campher, for example. A young German soldier who landed in the untamed Cape in the late 1600s, he fell in love with Ansela van de Caab, a woman enslaved at the Castle of Good Hope. Every few weeks, Laurens would walk – yes, walk – the 50-kilometre journey from Stellenbosch to Cape Town just to see her. Three days on foot, no horse, just heart. Then there’s Johannes Augustus Dreyer, who reportedly fled Europe after a fatal duel over a woman. A century and a half later, his descendants would plant more than 1 300 vines on a Swartland farm. That land became Leeuwenkuil – ‘Lion’s Lair’ – a now-iconic name echoing wildness, resilience and history. Leeuwenkuil’s home turf was once the stomping ground of the Cape lion, now extinct but immortalised in the ironwork on the farm’s historic front door. The land [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Context matters: What really rules when judging wine</title>
		<link>https://designnews.co.za/context-matters-what-really-rules-when-judging-wine/</link>
		<comments>https://designnews.co.za/context-matters-what-really-rules-when-judging-wine/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 16 Apr 2025 07:26:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Design News]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Food]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lifestyle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Vinimark]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://designnews.co.za/?p=10232</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8216;It&#8217;s like watching a foreign film without subtitles,&#8217; quipped a participant at Vinimark&#8217;s recent &#8216;How to Taste and How to Score&#8217; Masterclass, describing the challenge of assigning scores in an unsighted tasting. It&#8217;s a sentiment that resonated across the room at the Klapmuts premises of South Africa’s largest independent wine specialist, where even seasoned industry professionals found themselves second-guessing their sensory instincts. Master of Wine Cathy van Zyl was there to demystify the complex world of wine scoring, where a point or two can mean the difference between silver success and golden glory. &#8216;Each time you taste, it&#8217;s an opportunity to learn,&#8217; she told the gathering, drawing from her extensive experience judging at prestigious competitions like the International Wine Challenge (IWC) and serving on numerous global tasting panels. &#8216;If you don&#8217;t learn about the wine itself, you learn something about yourself and your tasting ability.&#8217; It&#8217;s a humbling reminder that even after decades of experience, wine keeps you on your toes – or rather, on the tip of your tongue. Van Zyl&#8217;s journey to respected international authority included many learning experiences along the way, an important one of which was that ‘people taste wine for different reasons, and they taste [...]]]></description>
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