South Africa, Stellenbosch, January 2020; KLEINE ZALZE wine estate in Stellenbosch has made a key appointment in line with its premiumisation strategy with marketing and sales specialist and wine industry veteran Carina Gous to join its team.
“A luminary of the industry, Carina has built a first-class career in the wine industry. As such, she brings substantial expertise and is the perfect fit for our vision and team,” says Kleine Zalze owner and managing director Kobus Basson.
She will be part of the senior management team at Kleine Zalze, in the position of Executive Manager: Marketing and Sales, as of 1 February 2020.
“It is a privilege to join the experienced and talented team at Kleine Zalze,” says Carina. “I look forward to working with a well-established and respected brand and to apply my marketing knowledge and international experience to unlock further opportunities for the business in South Africa and on the international stage.”
Carina is a former global brand director for Distell’s portfolio of premium wine and spirits brands and previously held the position of Business Director: Wine Segment. She played a central role in growing and improving the company’s wine business at a global level. At the end of 2017 she also took over from financial entrepreneur Michael Jordaan as non-executive chairperson at the industry’s export promotions organisation Wines of South Africa (WOSA). Most recently, she served as wine strategy advisor to various wine businesses within the industry.
“Carina is widely respected in South Africa as well as internationally and will be well received by our customers and markets,” says Kobus.
From its base in Stellenbosch, Kleine Zalze competes at the highest level of the very competitive world markets for premium wines. “These are exciting times for Kleine Zalze,” says winery cellarmaster Alastair Rimmer. “Since 2015 we have been actively refocusing our vineyard mix to be able to build on the premium reputation that Kleine Zalze has carved for itself. To do this, we started replanting our vineyards to the varieties we feel are best suited to our terroir as well as forging longstanding partnerships with other growers in our area. We are now in a great position to produce consistently brilliant wines that best showcase the unique Stellenbosch identity,” he says. “Obviously, producing the wines is only half the battle and the wine team is looking forward to Carina coming on board to help us share our passion for what we do and to take these great wines to the world.”
Part of the premiumisation strategy has included the upgrade of the Kleine Zalze cellar, production facilities and ancillary infrastructure, and the momentum in this process will be carried through this year. Kobus Basson says:
“Carina’s specific knowledge and experience with premium wines and brands allow her to play a great role in Kleine Zalze’s journey. Not only will she focus on our marketing strategies, premium brands, sales and customer relations, but she’ll also release the rest of the team to focus on operational excellence.
“The year 2020 leads us into a new decade and Kleine Zalze looks forward with this strategy and strengthened team to continue building on the exciting and challenging road of supplying top quality, premium wines to world markets,” he says.
