Six bottles of the royal wine collection, known as Bayede, recently fetched R56 000 on auction at a Wet Civils gala dinner in Johannesburg.
Two other bottles were snapped up for R22 000 at an auction at the Herbert Baker Hotel in Pretoria.
The wine, currently available at only selected restaurants in Johannesburg and Durban, is also a hit at the King Shaka Restaurant and Nightclub in London.
Now there are plans to sell the wine - which is decorated with beads, the royal crest and the king's signature - through a supermarket chain at a fraction of the price fetched on auction.
It will retail from R63 to over R180 a bottle.
"Pity I don't drink much wine, but (HM King Goodwill) Shiraz is lovely or I'll have a small glass of (HM King Goodwill) Chardonnay 2007 if I'm eating fish," said the king.
Other wines in the collection include the King Shaka Jubilee 2005, Prince Red 2009, HM King Goodwill Merlot 2007, Queen Thomo Sauvignon Blanc 2010, Prince White 2009 and Queen Mantfombi Brut Rosé 2007.
The king said the Bayede project was not just about wine, but also about creating jobs.
Antoinette Vermooten, who has been marketing the wine, said it was a dream come true for the king.
She said that two years ago the king and two businessmen, Swiss banker Hansjürg Saager and Ben Vermooten, came up with the idea of developing a uniquely African wine at Saager's wine estate, Eikendal Vineyards, near Stellenbosch.
The proceeds of the wine auction were donated to the Vincent Tshabalala Education Trust Fund and Bathokwa Primary School in Pretoria.
Source: Sunday Times
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