The TOPS Soweto Wine Festival, in association with Food Network, is officially the place to be on the first weekend of September every year and so say 8413 people who visited the festival and tasted over 900 wines this year.

Says Marilyn Cooper, co-founder of TOPS Soweto Wine Festival, in association with Food Network, a Cape Wine Master and CEO of the Cape Wine Academy "Even though we had a huge hail storm and heavy rains on Thursday afternoon we still had 1550 people come to the festival that evening but it would have been many more. On Friday and Saturday we were full to capacity on both nights with 3008 people on Friday and Saturday being slightly busier with 3855 people. To be honest, this festival is no longer about the numbers, it is about wine and people finding the wine they love. What you see at this festival are South Africa's wine consumers of tomorrow and the future."

"Wine consumption is on the increase but also in a responsible manner", comments Mnikelo Mangciphu co-founder of the TOPS Soweto Wine Festival, in association with Food Network, and owner of Soweto's Morara Wine and Spirit Emporium, "and the TOPS Soweto Wine Festival plays a large part in growing this new market of responsible wine consumers, as they are concerned about the etiquette of wine drinking and the responsibility of not getting drunk at wine tastings and this has everything to do with wine education, which is one of the primary objectives of the festival."

Traditional stereotypes about wine in South Africa are fading as a new generation of black wine connoisseurs and producers enters the wine scene. South Africa's wine industry is viewed as one of the most progressive and successful of many wine-producing countries. The industry's transformation efforts have been successful and new wine consumption trends point to new groups of emerging wine consumers.

According to the festival research done at the festival over the past 7 years, there appears to be three consumer groups emerging of growing influence that should be considered, to ensure long term industry viability.

Firstly, there are the infrequent wine consumers, which is a large pool of black consumers of all ages who like the taste of wine but drink it infrequently because they are intimidated by the idea of choosing and buying it or see wine as a drink for special occasions only (33%). This pool has been decreasing over the past 5 years.

Then there are the trendy wine consumers, a similarly large pool of young black consumers who are attracted to wine but want it to be fun to buy, to fit with their lifestyle and to meet their desire to always be seen with what's new and trendy, and this pool has been increasing over the past 5 years (28%). And lastly the young black female consumer. An increasing number of women are drinking wine and making purchasing decisions - this pool has also increased over the past 5 years (20%).

The demand for convenience is also important to these markets. In South Africa, retailers like TOPS at SPAR, which have over 500 outlets, have a large selection of wines from boutique to well-known brands and services this market conveniently. Most the wines available to taste at the festival are available at TOPS at SPAR outlets.

Says Mark Robinson, TOPS Group Liquor Manager, "At TOPS at SPAR not only do we offer great value, convenience and an amazing range of fine wines and refreshments, but, because we are owner - managed, you can also experience personal service, coupled with good advice. We would like to thank all the new friends we made at the festival. It was a wonderful experience and we look forward to the next festival in Umlazi."