Neil Pendock speaks to Craig Edgar, owner of the Chenin Restaurant/Wine Bar in the Cape Quarter

Does the concept of a wine bar work in Cape Town?

We're asking ourselves that question at the moment. The business has been open for 10 months and it's been tough. There are several challenges, the main ones being the recession, the seasonality of tourist-focused businesses in the Cape and the building of the New Cape Quarter across the road. Around half our customers are foreign. We do sell lots of wine by the glass, but if you look at the consumption statistics, South African per capita consumption is around 7.3 litres per year - less than 10% of the equivalent figures for France and Italy. So we all need to drink more wine.

Does vintage matter?

For whites, definitely. People want freshness, which translates to 2009-vintage chenin and sauvignon blanc, but they are happy with older chardonnays. But then 2008 was not a great white vintage, so that could be the reason. Strange to report, but we don't have a great demand for older reds.

Is there an awareness of appellation?

Franschhoek is hot at the moment. That said, our top selling red comes from Durbanville: the Nitida 2008 cabernet sauvignon, while the top white is from Gabrielskloof in Bot River - their 2009 vintage sauvignon blanc.

Any trends in wine pricing?

We had the usual annual price hikes in January/February of around 4% to 8%. We certainly won't be raising prices for the World Cup as it's in winter and Cape winters can be challenging. We're looking at a 30% increase in business before, during and after the World Cup. We will be adding a beer tap to complement our wine list, as soccer supporters seem to enjoy beer.