2018 marks the 20th vintage of Goats Do Roam. Have you ever heard the tale of how the brand came to be?

The idea of Goats do Roam first came about in the late 1990′s during a casual conversation between Fairview owner Charles Back and his UK importer at the time. Charles was looking to launch a blended wine within the Fairview range comprising farm’s key varietal, Shiraz and others such as Grenache and Carignan. After regaling the tale of his son’s antics with the goats from the Fairview tower, and chatting about the herd that roams around the Fairview property (and a few glasses of wine no doubt) the name ‘Goats do Roam’ popped up and the rest is history.

When Charles Back and his team first decided to go ahead with the Goats do Roam wines he was adamant about one thing – he did not want to sell wine based purely on the name and the label. He wanted people to buy the Goats do Roam wines again after they tasted them for the first time and to do that he needed to make sure that what was in the bottle got the consumers’ attention as much as what was on it. In fact, he really needed to (and continues to need to) over-deliver, as many viewed the ‘Goats’ as trying to sell wine based on the attention that the labels received. There are many wines with better looking labels that have come and gone in the time that ‘Goats’ has been around…

Charles Back says:

“When we had the idea to produce this wine we were in a little bit of a rush to get the label finalised. We had spoken to our UK importer and they were very keen to have the wine on their shelves. Anthony Lane designed the label but when it came back from the printer the colour was nothing like what was planned. But time was pressing so we had to send the order and the rather garish yellow has become characteristic!”

Goats do Roam was launched before the critter craze really hit the market and may be seen as one of the brands that pioneered this trend, but Back doesn’t really view the Goats as critter labels.  A lot of thought goes into the labels and there is a story attached to each.  They are more than just quirky illustrations.

The Goats do Roam wines first hit the UK scene in late 1999, selling in retailers including Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Somerfield, Majestic and many others, for a number of years. However, as the supermarket wine retail environment changed, Charles Back felt that this was no longer the appropriate channel for the Goats do Roam brand and he made the bold decision to pull his wines from the UK supermarket shelves. At the same time he had been focusing energy on the ‘emerging’ US market, after launching the ’99 vintage Goats do Roam Red there in 2001. The brand was well received in the USA, quickly becoming the top selling South African wine brand in the country, which Back flippantly writes off to “a big piece of a small pie” (South African wine accounts for around 2% of wine sold in the USA). This achievement has also assisted in attracting attention to the South African wines category.

The Goats were given a shot in the arm in August 2003 when the brand received coverage on CNN and BBC following a demonstration at the French embassy in Cape Town. The French had objected to the registration of ‘Goats do Roam’ in the US, saying that it was a direct play on the French appellation Côtes du Rhône. This was dismissed by Charles at the time as pure coincidence, alluding to the farm’s roaming herd of some 700 goats. A large group of placard-waving employees demonstrated in Cape Town, culminating in the presentation of a magnum of Goats do Roam Red and a rather symbolic bag of goat manure, labelled ‘Goats do Poo’! The exposure kick-started the brand in the USA and the threats of litigation fell silent.

Over the last twenty years, our vineyard plantings have matured to an extent that allows us to constantly improve the quality of fruit that is used in our Goats do Roam wines, and we look forward to continue to do so.

The post 20 Years of Goats Do Roam! appeared first on Fairview.

“Goats Do Roam has always been our playful, witty brand, and we wanted to offer something a little different to challenge perceptions about bag-in-box wine”, says Fairview owner Charles Back.

The new Goats Do Roam offering is unlike anything you would have seen on wine shelves. Inspired by a handbag, the design is aimed to be both practical, stylish and easy to carry. Keeping to the classic mustard yellow tone, the first Goats Do Roam handbag is a red blend offering.

Now admittedly, bag-in-box hasn’t always had the best reputation. Dismissively nicknamed ‘Chateau cardboard’ in Australia, the general perception is that the drink inside is plonk. Another arguement is why would you go for the bag-in-box option when there are shelves of traditionally bottled wines in every shop?

“For one, you get more wine for less—about four bottles worth in one box. This isn’t because the wine is of lower quality, but rather because boxed wines don’t have the same overhead when it comes to packaging, materials and shipping. The traditional bottling process is costly, and requires glass, corks, and foils. Those materials are heavy, making bottles more costly to ship. Plus, boxes are easy to carry, easy to stack, and take up less space when shipping,” says Goats Do Roam winemaker Anthony de Jager.

There are many more sensible reasons to buy bag-in-box, especially if you’re off on holiday, or to a festival, by car or train. This, along with the increased quality on offer, is presumably one of the causes for the recent 200% rise in sales reported by Amazon in August 2017. On our side, here are 5 reasons we believe bag-in-box is best:

5 Reasons Why Bag-in-Box is Better than Bottle: 

High Quality: Great value, with more affordable packaging – after all, why pay for more packaging when you can pay for more wine?

Environmental Impact: Wine in alternative, lighter packaging reduces the amount of carbon dioxide emitted during transportation. Also, cardboard requires a lot less energy to produce than glass, and both the cardboard and the plastic bags the wine is stored in are recyclable. If you’re a environmentally conscious drinker, boxed wine is the way to go!

Convenience: Sturdy, no rattle packaging that is easy to open and store

No Wastage: Thanks to no air or light accessing the packaging after opening, the wine stays wonderfully fresh for a minimum of 2 weeks, allowing you more time to enjoy the product and no wastage until the last drop. Think about it – boxed wine can last up to 2 weeks after opening, and will last even longer if refrigerated. An open bottle of wine lasts about a week tops before it goes sour!

Camping Buddy: The box makes a great fire starter and the bag a surprisingly comfy pillow

If you’re still not convinced, take Charles’s word:

“Boxed wine has a bad reptuation. While boxed wines have long been associated with poor quality, they’re just like traditional cork and bottled wines—there are good ones and there are bad ones. People just look down on it because it doesn’t come in a fancy bottle, and assume the contents are cheap. But a winemaker’s secret that few know is that, on occasion, we’ll sneak into the cellar to pick our favourite wines and if it is still in the tank or barrel, we’ll use a foil bag to collect some before we head off for the weekend. There’s nothing ‘bad’ about this, and in fact, its just as good or better than some bottled wine. Plus, it’s easy to transport, stays fresh longer, costs less, and is better for the environment!“

So this festive season, we encourage you all to think out of the box!

COMPETITION:
WIN with our NEW Goats Do Roam Handbag!

Think out of the box and get creative with Goats Do Roam! Re-think wine in a bag, and enjoy high-quality wine at an affordable price. Every month, we’ll be giving away a Goats Do Roam wine hamper, with a grand prize worth R5000!

TO ENTER:

1: Head to the most adventurous place you can think of

2: Once you’ve finished enjoying your wine, blow up the empty foil bag

3: Take a photo with our Goats Do Roam mascot located on the foil bag

4: Upload your photo to Instagram and tag @fairviewwineandcheese, or share it on your Facebook using the hashtag #playthegoat!

5: Go on, let your imagination roam far and wide!

The post Goat’s Do Roam Has A Brand New Bag … appeared first on Fairview.

The first Goats Do Roam vintage was 1999. To call it an instant success could be an understatement – within the space of a few short years, our tongue-in-cheek range became the best-selling South African wine brand internationally. It holds a close place in my heart and was actually one of South Africa’s first ‘critter’ brands. But importantly, it has never been a joke wine. My winemaking team and I have always endeavoured to ensure that the quality of the wine is consistently high, and to this end, I think we continue to reach our goal, winning several awards over the decades and continuing to find a spot on the shelves.

But time flies, and my herd asked for a wardrobe change. 20 years later, I decided to update the look and feel of our labels. While the iconic mustard-yellow of the Red Blend lives on, you’ll find the White and Rosé blends look very different, with a delicate new colour palate to boot. Designed by the talents at Jane Says Design, the inspiration for the label was to reflect the delicate smoothness of the wine while adding a bit of shine with the gold foil. We’ve got the nod from our goats – I hope we have it from you too?

Goats do Roam Festive Case

– Charles Back 

The post New Look for Goats Do Roam! appeared first on Fairview.

On the 15^th August 2017, our Goats Do Roam Rosé received a gold in South Africa’s only rosé wine competition, ‘Rosé Rocks!’.  The competition seeks to recognise excellence in rosé winemaking and promote the SA Rosé category. This year, the judging panel was chaired by wine expert and industry legend, Allan Mullins, who was joined by a team of 5 other judges. The Rosé renaissance is currently gaining momentum as one of the fastest growing categories of wine in South Africa, and internationally. In South Africa alone, sales trebled between 2007 and 2014.

In response to the award, Anthony de Jager, Chief Winemaker at Fairview, shared that:

“Although rosé is often viewed as a fun and easy drinking wine, it can be one of the more rewarding wines to make. The most challenging part is knowing when to take the juice off the skins, as this determines the intensity and brightness of the colour, which also has a direct impact on the tannin structure and ultimately the drinkability of the wine. A well-balanced rosé is one of my favourite food wines, complementing the widest range of dishes. Best enjoyed young!”

Our Goats Do Roam Rosé 2016 is available on our online shop for R52. Just click here. To book a standard wine tasting or a Master Tasting at Fairview, call 021 863 2450. Follow @fairviewwineandcheese on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The post Our Goats Do Roam Rosé Rocks! appeared first on Fairview.

Fairview Online Shop

Naturally, first stop is our home base of Fairview.co.za. Fairview is the only website that sells all of the Fairview Wines (all 60+ of them, yes!) from classics like Fairview Shiraz to our flagship Fairview Cyril Back. We also have a few limited wines, such as Broken Barrel (exclusive to the Tasting Room and online shop), as well as our Bloemcool range – a small batch selection that allows our winemakers to experiment with unusual varieties and blends. Of course, the site wouldn’t be complete without our old faithful’s like our lifestyle offering of La Capra wines, and our beloved blended Goats Do Roam range. (Hint: Sign up to our newsletter to hear our regular and unbeatable specials – many of which included once-off batches that are high value for money!)

Visit https://www.fairview.co.za/shop/

Winefolk

We like the folk and Winefolk, and are happy to say that almost the entire Fairview Wine range is available on their site – making it one of best selections outside our online shop and tasting room. Winefolk was established by a few passionate wine personalities to supply wines directly to consumers, door to door in South Africa. If you love a bargain, this is your bag! Winefolk specializes in deals (especially in export overruns and such), with regular wine specials ranging between R25 – R45. Sign up to their newsletter – their wine sells fast!

Visit https://winefolk.co.za/

Yuppiechef

As one of South Africa’s premier online kitchen & homeware store, Yuppiechef has a formidable wine selection, and we’re proud to be part of their cellar selection. The site is user friendly and it’s all too easy to spend way too much time on it (trust us!) – after all, if you’re going to buy some fine Fairview wine, why not upgrade your glassware while you’re at it? Yuppiechef offers our wine in 6 bottle cases, securing really get value for money.

Visit https://www.yuppiechef.com/fairview.htm

Norman Goodfellows

Norman Goodfellows relentless focus on service and attention to detail has earned them a reputation as one of South Africa’s finest wine and spirit merchants. They have also won Best of Joburg 2014 – Best Bottle Store Award. Now online, they offer many of the same wines they stock in their retail stores – including, naturally, our Fairview selection. Check them out:

Visit: https://www.ngf.co.za/catalogsearch/result/?cat=0&q=fairview

Wine.co.za

Wine.co.za is a content hub of electronically stored information of lip-smacking South African wines and the remarkable people and magical places behind these wines. The Wine.co.za site is best known for finding places and wines in South Africa. It also offers a range of other options like news, a diary, shop and tour routes. If you want to get a better idea of Fairview’s vast range or learn more about the brand, this is a one-stop shop:

Visit http://shop.wine.co.za/

The post 5 Places to Buy Fairview Wines Online appeared first on Fairview.