Alliance Wine partners with Western Cape producer Blankbottle
Alliance Wine has taken on exclusive UK distribution of well-known South African winery Blankbottle.
The importer said it was “proud to announce” the partnership, adding that the Western Cape winery has built up a devoted following across the trade with its “unconventional labels, strong storytelling and parcel-focused approach”.
The initial offer – available to both on- and off-trade customers – will focus on a core of the producer’s best-known wines, with additional small-parcel releases to follow.
Founded in 2004, Blankbottle has grown from a garage project to a well-respected independent producer, which remains committed to its founding principles.
Most recognisable among these is the decision to exclude grape varieties from its labelling, treating each release as “an individual narrative” with “no fixed stylistic boundaries”.
The labels are hand-designed by founder Pieter Walser (pictured) himself, using woodcuts, lino prints, pencil drawings and stencils, with each bottle carrying a QR code linking to one of his own short films.
Walser owns no vineyards, instead relying on a network of 66 growers across the Western Cape, from whom he selects fruit based on personality and site expression.
In addition, viticulturalists Jaco Engelbrecht and Francois Hanekom work closely with growers to ensure that their approach is both sustainable and quality-driven.
Blankbottle’s team travels thousands of kilometres each harvest, searching for old vine parcels, marginal plots and forgotten sites.
The winery itself employs a low-intervention approach, with spontaneous fermentations, minimal additions and up to 90 separate fermentations across concrete egg, amphora and oak, along with late blending guided by Walser’s taste and intuitions.
Commenting on the partnership, Jean Wareing MW, head of buying & brand at Alliance, said: “Blankbottle is unlike anything else in our portfolio, or frankly, anyone else’s. Pieter has built something genuinely rare, wines that are critically acclaimed, accessibly priced, and completely, unmistakably themselves.
“South Africa is one of the most exciting regions we work with, and Blankbottle sits right at its creative frontier. We're delighted to be working with Pieter and his incredible wines and couldn't think of a more prefect addition to illustrate the value in pushing boundaries.”
The producer’s wines are available through Alliance Wine from early June, with seven wines available at launch.
Walser will visit the UK later in 2026, with trade tasting details announced by Alliance at a later date.
Samples, pricing and further information are available through freya.reinsch@alliancewine.com (in Scotland); holly.sharpe@alliancewine.com (for the London on-trade); and Alex.Baudouin@alliancewine.com (for the off-trade).
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