This archive report was first published on 19 July 2019.
Friday, July 19, 2019, marked a significant shift in the Kenyan wine market, with a growing demand for wine and a corresponding increase in supply. According to industry insiders, numerous wine shops have set up in Nairobi, stocking a wide range of varieties from Spain, California, Naivasha, France, Chile, South Africa, Portugal, Australia, the US, and Italy.
As Kenyans flock to tasting parties and festivals to learn about wine, they are increasingly heading to supermarkets rather than high-end restaurants to test their buying skills. KWV Wine Emporium, a South African brand, has reported that it sells more wine to supermarkets than to hotels and restaurants.
According to Juan José Ribes Palazon, the sales and marketing manager at KWV, this trend indicates that more people are taking wine at home. 'Restaurants and lounges too achieve high sales records, but for the premium brands,' he adds.
While different distributors have different sales records, Kenyans are buying affordable wines mostly from supermarkets. Gloria Kinya, a sommelier, notes that wine appreciation is growing in Kenya, evident from the number of importers and distributors.
'Restaurants have also improved their wine lists in a bid to ensure every person is catered for in terms of preference,' she adds. 'If you look back five or seven years ago, people did not know much about wine. The drinking culture at the time was more beer and whisky. Wine was associated with a certain 'class' of people. Today, people are trying out new cuisines, flavours and wines.'
Men are also drinking more wine than before, with Gloria noting that they tend to prefer full-bodied, red wines, while women are more experimental and tend to prefer fruity varieties.
To learn how to taste wine and develop a palate, Nairobi Wine Festival has attracted a growing number of attendees over the years. Noam Orr, a co-founder of Baraka Events and partner of the Nairobi Wine Week, notes that the event has recorded an increase in the number of attendees every year, signalling a growing interest in wine as an alternative or preferred drink to beer and whisky.
Most supermarket wines are mass-produced and differ from small-production wines, but it does not mean the taste is not good. Vincent Omare, a sommelier at The Wine Shop, advises that if you are buying from the supermarket, check the label on the bottle.
'The year the grapes were harvested, the region where the grapes come from and what kind of grape variety is usually described on most bottles and these details will help you to know the quality of the wine,' he advises.
