Podcast: The Cold Soak – the month in SA wine reviewed

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• Christian Eedes | 31 July 2026

  For the record, the Tanzanian sugarcane spirit akin to gin mentioned at around 28: 40 is called Konyagi.

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• Josua | 31 July 2026

  I just want to point out that the majority of the criticisms against Michael Fridjhon wasn’t that he questioned the relationship between WOSA and Tim, it was the manner in which he did it. It came across as snarky and personal.

  Let’s not pretend that it was simply because of the subject matter he pointed out.

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  • Jamie Johnson | 1 August 2026

    Exactly this. I don’t think many supporting Tim Atkin took issue with the topic being brought up and discussed, it was more the manner in which it was done which completely ended up backfiring. I’m yet to find a fine wine buyer in the UK (and I’m active in the largest Wine En Primeur Discord group there) who makes buying decision from any of Michael’s reports but I do know plenty who use Tim’s SA report to help guide their SA wine selections, as well as WineMag and Vinous. So the whole article just came across as a jealous swipe and seemed very out of touch with what’s actually happening in SA’s largest export market.

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• James | 1 August 2026

  Does David Clarke not have any insights into how his portfolio sells off the back of Tim’s ratings?

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  • David Clarke | 1 August 2026

    Hi James, sure. What would you like to know?

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    • James | 2 August 2026

      Do Tim’s ratings have an impact (positively) on exanimo sales post Tim’s results and the 95+ wines?

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      • Josua | 3 August 2026

        The answer to this is almost certainly yes for many premium wine sellers.

        I store my wine with Wine Cellar. After dropping off some wine last year that I bought after the TA report released, the guys working there mentioned that they see a surge in wine being dropped off for storage after the report every year.

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        • Christian Eedes | 3 August 2026

          Word from Ex Animo when asked how much wine it sells directly due to the Atkin Report was: “Hard to tell. Depends on pricing and availability”.

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          • Josua | 3 August 2026

            That makes sense from an individual wine perspective. But surely they can check over a 5-year period whether there is a spike in sales during the first 2-3 weeks in September each year? That would at least indicate whether there is any impact.

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      • David Clarke | 4 August 2026

        Hi James. Certainly high scores by virtually any critic or publication generates interest, some more than others. We sell a fairly niche range of wines, many do not submit to Platter, nor to Tim Atkin, for example. If Tim gives a wine 98 and it is available to buy, absolutely sales will spike at that time. We’ve had very high-scoring wines only become available six months after their score in Tim’s report was published, and the sales are much weaker. Platter’s used to generate a lot of buzz and sales, Tim’s still do to a certain extent. It seems to me that the band of wines for whom local sales really spike after critic publication are based on availability (many if the high-scoring wines on Tim’s forthcoming report will be sold out locally I would think), price (in general more excitement for a R200 wine that scores 97 than one for R800 that scores 98), and thirdly, reputation of the producer. When Platter’s named Julien Schaal Mountain Vineyards Pinot Noir of the Year, sales went ballistic – it was available, and less expensive than many wines it “beat”. I hope that answers your question. In short: yes, it has a positive impact on sales.

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