Country discount is a recognised issue in the world of commerce. It is the measure of the accumulated prejudice about the believed lack of competence of the players in a specific field: Korean car manufacturers compared with their German counterparts, Chinese handbag manufacturers compared with Italian leather-workers.

It is widely applied in the world of wine. Most wine drinkers believe that France produces the world's best wines - even though they may never have tasted one of its vinous legends. (Curiously, they probably couldn't say whether or not China produces any wine - notwithstanding the fact that China has substantially more vineyards than South Africa).

Country discount is less easily shaken off than Shabir Shaik's fatal illness. It is used by importers and retailers to force down prices. When the Austrian anti-freeze scandal occurred some thirty years ago, the prices of even the best wines were compromised. Despite successive victories against the French in the 1976 Judgement of Paris tasting and the re-run three decades later, California cannot really compete against Bordeaux and Burgundy except in the eyes of American patriots.

South African wine was a victim of country discount - even before the age of isolation. The problem probably increased in the decade following the return to international markets. Rand weakness is partly to blame. The slide in its value from 1994 to 2002 meant that the price points which were profitable when Cape wine finally made it back to retailers' shelves in the year Mandela came to power remained viable despite domestic cost inflation. Since the Rand began strengthening (and Sterling collapsed), many producers are struggling

Now we have dozens of world class producers (but a currency which refuses to succumb to the dire predictions that are made about it). Country discount drives consumer price resistance. In markets like the UK there are very few punters who would fork out as much for the same wine with a South African label as they would pay for it in French or even American packaging.

When the English cricket team tours South Africa it has become something of a tradition for members of the press corps to set up a showing of the latest of the Cape's premium wines. It's a casual enough event, with a couple of South African wine writers putting up their list of the top 10 whites and reds and a (more or less informal) tasting taking place once most of the samples have been assembled.

It struck me - as I compiled my list for this year's gathering - that I could pretty much have offered any of my top 30 reds and whites without significantly lowering the standard of what was put on the table. One of the big changes - and one that is immediately discernible compared with previous years - is the sheer depth of quality of what is on offer at the very top of the market.

Among the whites, the stand out wines at this year's tasting (which was held at L'Ormarins and accordingly showed several of the cellar's newer releases) included the Iona and Lomond Sauvignon Blancs, the Oak Valley, Chamonix Reserve, Jordan Nine Yards, and Ataraxia Chardonnays, the Kanu KCB Chenin Blanc, and the L'Ormarins Nemesia, Tokara Director's Reserve and the Vergelegen blends.

The best reds were equally striking: the Kleine Zalze and Kanonkop Cabernets, the Morgenster, Rust en Vrede and Vergelegen estate blends, the Waterford Shiraz and the Anthonij Rupert Cabernet Franc were all highly ranked.

It was an impressive line-up by any standard. I know that cricketing hacks and their camp-followers should not be considered a serious benchmark in the world of wine judgement - but I did leave the tasting with two impressions about their reactions. The first is that they were more respectful than at the last tasting I attended with them. The second is that they were still not respectful enough. If the same event had been hosted at a great Bordeaux chateau, there would have been a more obvious sense - even from the same group - that they recognised they were in the presence of vinous greatness. Sadly we have to put this down to country discount.

From Business Day, 20 January 2010