South Africa’s minister of agriculture has praised the resilience of the Cape wine industry, which he said has been “tested like few others” over the past decade.

Welcoming guests to Cape Wine 2025, John Steenhuisen said the industry “has weathered drought, the pandemic, blackouts and global uncertainty, and yet it still chooses generosity, excellence and hope”.

He added: “Against these headwinds, the South African wine value chain still supported over 270,000 jobs in 2022, with 85,962 of those on farms and in cellars; and contributed roughly R56bn to the gross domestic product close to 1% of the national economy.”

Steenhuisen reported that in 2024, Cape winemakers sold R35.7bn of wine, about 40% of which was exported. “Every day, about 17 million glasses of South African wine are raised around the world,” he added.

Referring to the social transformation of the industry, Steenhuisen said “we are not where we want to be, but certainly on the journey”.

He added: “Today there are 107 black-owned wine brands and 81 black-owned farms in our ecosystem: entrepreneurs and growers building equity, know-how, and intergenerational opportunity.

“Through the partnership of public and private funding, 2024 saw direct industry investment of R14m which unlocked a further R19m in donor funding for inclusive growth.

“Three black-owned cellars are in various stages of development, with one already under construction – a milestone for ownership and production capacity.”