Alliance Wine has become the exclusive UK importer of Western Cape winery Blankbottle. 

Based in Firgrove, the winery was first founded in 2004 as a garage project by Pieter Walser, expanding to become one of the Western Cape’s most highly regarded producers. 

A unique model, Alliance explained that Walser doesn’t own any vineyards but instead works with a network of 66 growers across the Western Cape, selecting fruit based on site expression rather than variety or reputation. 

Viticulturists Jaco Engelbrecht and Francois Hanekom then work closely with growers to ensure a sustainable, quality-driven approach, focusing on old-vine parcels, marginal plots and forgotten sites. 

In the cellar, the intuitive philosophy continues through spontaneous fermentations, minimal additions and up to 90 separate fermentations across concrete egg amphorae and oak. The producer said that blending happens late, guided by taste and instinct as much as data. 

Now, Alliance Wine is set to offer a series of Blankbottle’s best-known wines, with small-parcel releases to follow. 

Available to both the on- and off-trade, the initial seven wines will be launched in the UK from June 2026, with more details on other bottles to be released throughout the year. 

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 perfect addition to illustrate the value in pushing boundaries.”