Long Neck Wines have been with us from the beginning. The instantly recognisable packaging is only the start, as they are wines that genuinely live up to their price tag and help keep South Africa’s reputation as a trustworthy producer of quality wines firmly intact.

Credit must go to the purchasing expertise of head wine boffin Duncan McEuen, one of the ‘three amigos’ at Long Neck. Another man behind the giraffe, and another of the three amigos, is Archie Cameron. He tells us that while the USA remains an important market for Long Neck, the migration to other parts of the world have helped turn it into a truly successful global brand. They have even made it to the Antarctic!

1. What is the highlight of making your own wine and what part of the process do you most enjoy?

The highlight for me is walking into the winery and smelling that unique musky and heady combination of wood and grape. It is quite literally, intoxicating!

Not wishing to sound overly capitalistic but I do love watching a container depart for some far away place. That’s always exciting. Sending our wine to Australia, where they make their own very fine wines, is doubly so!

I got a real buzz when I was told that our wines were very popular in one of the Antarctic research stations. Can’t get much further away than that! Check out the photos.

2. Is there a grape variety (perhaps more than one) that you believe is the worlds best when grown in South Africa?

We grow most of the various grape varietals here in South Africa, but to single out one and say it is the best in the world would be presumptuous. My personal favorite is Chardonnay, although our best seller is Shiraz.

3. If you couldn’t make wine in South Africa any more, where would you go?

I suspect South America. I have never visited Argentina or Chile but I think I could enjoy the ‘Hispanic’ way of life more so than say Oz or NZ. Europe is too crowded for me! Needless to say they are great countries for wine production.

4. What was the inspiration for the Long Neck brand?

When we came up with the idea of the label, we wanted to say ‘young, trendy, cool, hip and South African’ all in one go! I think we have succeeded.

5. What do you feel is the long-term outlook for the South African wine industry?

Excellent! More people will experience South African wines this year than ever before, because of the World Cup. I reckon that our wines will become regular items on everyday shopping lists.

Thanks to Archie Cameron and Lucy Godfrey at Long Neck Wines.

Our range from Long Neck.

When it comes to quality inexpensive wine, South Africa is hard to beat. The Long Neck range, starting with the Sauvignon Blanc, delivers just that. If you tasted a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc at the same price against this, it may well struggle to hold its own.

To view product page and for more details, click on Long Neck Sauvignon Blanc.

You may have noticed the rather long-necked star of our homepage promotional banners for May, licking a bottle of the Western Cape’s finest. This is Leila, the adopted giraffe and mascot of Long Neck Wines, from South Africa.

Leila has been hand-raised by zoo staff in the modern East London Zoo on South Africa’s east coast. An infant of a few days old on arrival, she stood a mere 1.6m tall. Today she is nearly seven years old and stands almost 4.5m in height. Leila is very gentle, affectionate and approachable and particularly enjoys being scratched behind her ears.

Now we’re offering you the chance to adopt your own giraffe in our June contest! This is Leila’s little brother Curious and we’re desperately seeking a good home for him. He comes complete with adoption certificate and a few bottles of Long Neck to celebrate the new arrival.

How to Enter: All you have to do to enter the contest is join (or already be a member of) our monthly newsletter. We’ll draw a winner at random on the 3rd of June when our next newsletter goes out, and deliver Curious the adopted giraffe and three of his Long Neck friends to you the day after (or whenever you’d like) free of charge. You are of course completely welcome to un-join the minute after the draw is done, but we like giving discounts and free stuff to our members, so we hope you’ll stick around!

PS: Congrats to the winner of the May contest, Dolores Casey, who was drawn this morning!

As you may already know from our recent Wine for Dummies post, South African wines are increasingly winning high praise and recognition for their quality on the international stage, and being in the business myself, it’s obvious that Irish consumers are well aware of what this fascinating country has to offer.

Long Neck produces the sort of wine that has helped raise South Africa’s profile on the wine scene. The price point and smart packaging is obviously key, but it’s the level of quality inside the bottle that sustains the interest.

Long Neck is the brainchild of three friends, John Cullis, Archie Cameron, and Duncan McEuen with strong South African bonds and a love of good wine. Duncan is the Company’s top nose. A wine boffin of note, he was one time head of the wine department at the Christie’s auction house, in London, and continues to tutor in wine tastings around the world and serve on several international wine committees.

The name Long Neck was chosen because, like the giraffe, the partners found themselves in an extremely advantaged position. The giraffe’s height allows it to feed on the succulent leaves and fruit that other animals can’t reach. So the Company’s modus operandi and the inspiration for the brand’s exceptional packaging was chosen.

South-Western Cape is widely acclaimed to be one of the worlds most spectacular wine growing areas. The long hot summers tempered by cool ocean breezes, and cold, wet winters made it the perfect location for Long Neck to produce some cracking wines. Bandon’s very own Manic Mammy certainly thought so of the Sauvignon Blanc in this LouderVoice review.

For May and June, we have our Long Neck range at €7.99 per bottle when you buy two or more, with a case delivered to your door for €95. And no, we’re not having a Giraffe. So if you haven’t got on the South African wine trail yet, now’s the time. These wines are certainly worth reaching for.

Set to take Bandon, Cork and Ireland by storm, the Curious party had been meticulously planned to perfection. The heat lamps were set, the food was plated and the wine was waiting to be opened.

Half an hour before our first guests arrived we were plunged into darkness. Panic set in. Should we get our hands on candles, shine the car headlights through the shop front window or cancel all together? No. No way was this epic occasion going to be scrapped. Thank goodness it was only a blown fuse.

With the curtain being raised and the lights back on, the wine began to flow, and didn’t stop until the early hours. The wines opened received great feedback, and surprise that they were all under a tenner.

"Under a tenner? Even better!"

In the red corner, the Farnese Montepulciano was adored for its light body and drink ability, while the chocolatey Long Neck Merlot and fruity Last Stand Shiraz warmed the bellies of the frigid.

A few arrived with a stigma for Chardonnay, but were quickly converted by Santa Alicia’s Reserve Chardonnay, with its astonishing clean mineral and tropical flavours. A number of guests left at the end of the night with cases of Sierra Grande’s Sauvignon Blanc under arm, while Paarl Heights smooth Chenin Blanc held the South African flag high and proud.

A few sore heads the next day, but it was another opportunity for Curious Wines to let her hair down and have a bit of fun. Like we do everyday.

We would like to say a big thank-you to all who attended on the night, and to Andy, Donal and Edel of Honest Food for their superb contribution. Our great wine was well matched by their great canapés.