Ex Animo Wine Co.

How do you get into the Cape Winemakers Guild, and what’s expected once you’re there?

Guild chairperson JD Pretorius joins David Clarke and Christian Eedes on The Cold Soak to talk membership, auction wines and the decisions behind the selection process.

They discuss what makes a Guild bottling different, why certain wines return year after year and how tasting panels balance quality with different styles.

There’s also a closer look at the Protégé Programme: working alongside Guild members, making your own wine and finding your next role in the industry.

Recorded before the auction weekend, with plenty to get into beyond the prices.

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This episode is brought to you by Ex Animo Wine Club (https://www.exanimo.co.za/wineclub/)

In this Cape Winemakers Guild Auction Special, Christian Eedes joins David Clarke to unpack one of the most closely watched events on the South African wine calendar.

We explore the Cape Winemakers Guild’s origins, its transformation from an industry knowledge-sharing forum into a powerful auction brand, and the tension between experimentation, exclusivity and commercial success. Christian also considers how the auction lineup has evolved, why certain varieties and styles continue to dominate, and whether its limited-release wines always justify their premium prices.

Then it is on to the wines themselves: the surprises, the standout newcomers and Christian’s highest-scoring selections from the 2026 lineup.

The conversation also looks beyond the auction to the Guild’s technical tastings, invitation-only membership and Protégé Programme, and asks how effectively the CWG is helping to shape the future of South African wine.

Several questions emerge during the conversation, and we’ll be putting them directly to current CWG chairperson JD Pretorius in a forthcoming episode. Coming soon!

In this episode of The Cold Soak, David Clarke and Christian Eedes discuss recent releases from Botanica, Mullineux, De Keur, Thistle & Weed, Zwartwater, Paul Clüver, Tesselaarsdal and Van Niekerk, before turning to some notable moves in the South African wine industry, including Callie Louw’s reconnection to Vondeling and Dirk van Zyl’s appointment at Kanonkop.

They get into the increasingly complicated business of scoring wine. With scores continuing to creep upwards, is the 100-point scale starting to lose its meaning? And what happens when a vintage as exciting as 2025 comes along?

David and Christian address some of the controversy that followed the previous episode and, as always, share their thoughts on what’s happening in South African wine and what’s worth paying attention to.

The Cold Soak is brought to you by the Ex Animo Wine Club.

South African wine has never had more exciting young talent. The challenge is knowing who to keep an eye on.

In Episode 4, David Clarke and Christian Eedes unpack the 2026 WineMag iTOO Next Generation Awards, discussing why it's time to retire the "New Wave" label and highlighting the under-35 winemakers shaping the future of the industry.

They also reflect on a host of recent releases, including Rall's remarkable 99-point Ava Syrah, Jean Smit's new Electric Mud Grenache, Solo Chardonnay, Rainbow's End and several other wines that have caught their attention over the past month.

The conversation also touches on why affordable wines deserve more attention, and how winter has become release season, with Sadie Family Wines, Van Loggerenberg and David & Nadia all releasing in the same week.

As always, there are a few disagreements, a couple of diversions, and plenty of recommendations for what to drink next.

The Cold Soak is brought to you by the Ex Animo Wine Club. Explore curated quarterly cases at exanimo.co.za/wineclub.

THE COLD SOAK: May 2026

Wine sales are down. New labels keep launching. Nobody seems quite sure what AI is going to do to wine media. And somewhere in the middle of all that, South African wine keeps getting better.

This month, David Clarke and Christian Eedes discuss the state of the industry following the Vinpro/FIA Summit, the growing challenge of attracting new drinkers, and whether wine is becoming harder to navigate than it needs to be.

They also look at recent releases from Anysbos, Hogan, Leeu Passant, Corney Family Wines, Raats Family Wines, Storm Wines and Glenelly Estate, touching on everything from pricing and ratings to the ever-growing number of wines competing for attention.

As always, there are a few disagreements, a few digressions, and plenty of opinions. It's also our longest episode to date. Whether that's because there was more to talk about or because we swapped coffee for wine is left to the listener to decide.

THE COLD SOAK: brought to you by the Ex Animo Wine Club (exanimo.co.za/wineclub/) 

Once a month, we sit down to talk about everything that went down in South African wine. New releases, industry gossip, bold moves, questionable decisions—we've got opinions on all of it.

Hosted by Ex Animo Wine Co. director, David Clarke, with winemag.co.za editor, Christian Eedes, the podcast brings together two respected voices with a clear-eyed view of what matters and what does not.

Each month’s episode cuts through the noise of new vintage releases, incisive analysis of Winemag.co.za reports, and opinionated conversations about the direction of the industry. 

At its heart, The Cold Soak is about informed perspective: rigorous without being pretentious, analytical without losing its sense of humour. Clarke and Eedes balance professional critique with a relaxed, conversational rhythm, making it as engaging for industry insiders as it is for curious wine lovers looking to understand what is in their glass.