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.

Back in June of this year, Waitrose (Decanter’s Supermarket of the Year 2009) began to stock a new range of wines from Chile. The wine was shipped in 24,000 litre flexitanks and bottled in the UK, saving 32,000 bottles - or 16 tons of glass - that no longer needed to be shipped. As a result, there was a reduction in carbon emissions, shipping, distribution and production costs.

A green innovation that saves money for retailers and consumers is a win win. We have several lines of our own that use the same distribution method, helping us to retail good quality wine at low prices. The Paarl Heights and Sierra Grande range are good examples.

The winemakers firstly ensure that they are buying quality grapes at a good price, and they instruct the farmers on the methods required to grow the best fruit. The wines are made in their native country, shipped on lees, allowing the ageing time required, before being stabilised and bottled in Europe (France in the case of the above). So the wine has travelled half way around the world without the excess weight of their packaging.

The Last Stand is another good example. In the likes of Chile there is more control required by the winemaker in the vineyard, but in Australia it’s a buying process for inexpensive wines. These grapes are actually selected by buyers at Tim Burvill’s Rockbare winery, who make more expensive and superior drops in comparison, but help to produce a fabulous budget wine that may have been set at a slightly higher price had they been imported all the way from OZ in bottle.

For higher priced wine, the saving obviously won’t make as much of a difference on the retail price, and the process as a whole is not going to stop global warming by itself, but it is a step in the right direction and if it helps keep the price vs quality ratio favourable, then who’s complaining?

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.

Beautiful South Africa is considered one of the stars of the New World, yet wine has been made there for over 350 years. At one time, it was the vineyards of Constantia that were considered to be producing the best wines in the world. Today, with such easy access to international markets, the country’s wine industry has been given an energetic lease of life to quench the thirst of all those new found disciples.

The ‘Wine of Origin’ legislation of South Africa dates back to 1973. For those wines coming into the EU, the stated variety and vintage must constitute 85% of the wine, but 100% of the grapes must come from the stated production area. The smallest recognised production area is the Estate. Estate wineries must make wine from grapes grown on their own land. Groups of Estates are known as Wards, which are grouped into Districts, with the largest production area being known as a Region.

Regional wines are generally the least expensive, and it’s these wines that have helped make South Africa more accessible to so many people worldwide. There has been huge investment in equipment in recent years from co-operatives, who source grapes from farmers and specialise in large volumes produced in modern wineries.

Typically South Africa is renowned for its red Pinotage, which is a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault. It’s one that shows red berry fruit characters, and from mature vines it can produce full-bodied, rich, spiced, berry fruit. The white patriot is Chenin Blanc, which is producing great alternatives to French versions, such as Vouvray. It accounts for around a fifth of white plantations. Floral aromas combined with tropical fruit is often complimented by almonds and honey from bottle aging, and smoky, toasty flavours from oak.

Recently, there has been big demand for the reds in particular, so this led to an influx of noble varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Shiraz. They are also producing some exceptional Chardonnay’s from the cooler sites and showing a range of different styles from the Sauvignon Blanc grape, so be sure to explore, or continue to explore South Africa, because it looks like there are going to be even more interesting wines coming our way.

Here’s a few examples from our own range:

Paarl Heights Chenin Blanc: A product of the Paarl Region, which has provided perfect growing conditions for this soft, fruity white.

Long Neck Pinotage: This is a great introduction to Pinotage, with concentrated fruit and hints of pepper and fig. It’s produced in Western Cape, which covers all vineyards of the Cape.

Saxenburg Private Collection Cabernet Sauvignon: This is South Africa showing off with a noble grape variety. The tannins in this Estate red have been beautifully tamed and mellowed after 12 months oak aging and time in bottle.