Wine Cellar

What Wine Cellar does

Brice & Burnett (formerly Wine Cellar) is a South African online fine wine merchant headquartered in Cape Town, founded in 2000, operating as a private company with 11–50 employees. The business sells curated South African and international wines through its own e-commerce storefront, spanning value offerings from around R105 per bottle to collectible icons priced above R26,000, and serves three primary customer groups: wine collectors and enthusiasts, high-net-worth wine investors, and gift buyers.

The core platform is a standard DTC e-commerce site with integrated inventory management, customer accounts, advanced search, wishlist, and a newsletter subscription system. On top of retail, the company operates a layered services stack that monetises adjacent parts of the fine wine value chain: professional cellaring, wine investment advisory, brokerage, an in-house auction platform, Bordeaux en primeur offerings, curated mixed cases, and a bi-monthly Insiders subscription box. Distribution is direct-to-consumer within South Africa, with free delivery above R1,500 and reach into international fine wine regions (France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Portugal, US, Australia) alongside South African sub-regions (Stellenbosch, Swartland, Hemel-en-Aarde, Elgin, etc.).

The revenue model is multi-stream: one-time retail transactions, transaction fees on investment and brokerage activity, and recurring subscription revenue. Marketing is executed through bi-weekly email newsletters, content marketing (region, grape, and pairing guides), organic SEO, and managed Google reviews (4.9 stars from 150 reviews). The company has been recognised by the Luxury Lifestyle Awards as Best Luxury Wine Retailer in South Africa and rated top retailer in the Winemag.co.za 2026 reader survey. There is no public funding history, no disclosed revenue, and no evidence of AI/ML capability or proprietary technology beyond standard e-commerce tooling.

Name

Wine Cellar

Legal name

Brice & Burnett

Website

https://winecellar.co.za

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Brice & Burnett (formerly Wine Cellar) is a South African online fine wine merchant headquartered in Cape Town, selling curated local and international wines via DTC e-commerce, complemented by cellaring, investment, brokerage, auction, and en primeur services, plus a subscription box.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Wine Retail

NAICS

Beer, Wine, and Liquor Retailers (44532)

SIC

Retail-Catalog & Mail-Order Houses (5961)

akta.pro primary industry

Wine Retail (Bottle Shops & Wine Merchants) (CRANABAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Fine Wine & Luxury Spirits Retail (CRANABAE), Alcohol Subscription & Wine Clubs (Retail) (CRANABAF), Wine Tastings & Vineyard/Winery Tours (THAJAGAD)

Keywords

• Online wine retail
• Fine wine merchant
• Wine investment
• Wine brokerage
• En primeur

Headquarters

HQ city

Cape Town

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Retail Wine Sales: Direct-to-consumer sales of curated international and South African wines through their e-commerce platform. One-time transaction model with individual bottle and mixed case purchases.
2. Wine Investment & Brokerage: Services for collectors to invest in and trade rare blue-chip wines. Includes brokerage, auction services, and investment advisory.
3. Wine Subscription (Insiders): Recurring subscription model offering curated mixed cases delivered bi-monthly. Brice & Burnett Insiders boxes at R1,490-R1,515 per delivery.
4. En Primeur: Futures purchasing of Bordeaux wines before they are bottled and released, typically at preferential pricing.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Wine Cellar, now operating as Brice & Burnett, is South Africa's online fine wine merchant selling curated South African and international wines directly to consumers via an e-commerce platform. The offering spans retail bottle and mixed-case sales, a bi-monthly subscription (Brice & Burnett Insiders), wine investment advisory, brokerage, auction, en primeur (Bordeaux futures), professional cellaring, tasting events, and rare blue-chip collectibles, with delivery available within South Africa.

Product overview

Brice & Burnett (formerly Wine Cellar) operates as a single unified e-commerce platform offering online wine retail alongside specialized wine services. The core product is the online wine store featuring South African and international wines, supplemented by value-added services including wine investment, brokerage, auction, en primeur purchasing, professional cellaring, tastings, and curated subscription cases (Brice & Burnett Insiders). The company also sells wine accessories such as stemware. The platform serves both retail customers and serious wine collectors seeking investment-grade wines.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Brice & Burnett Online Wine Retail Curated online retail of South African and international fine wines including rare and collectible bottles, with shopping cart, wishlist, advanced search, customer accounts, and multiple payment options. Targets wine collectors, enthusiasts, and gift buyers across South Africa.
• Wine Investment Investment advisory service enabling customers to invest in fine wines as an asset class, with portfolio management support and access to investment-grade bottles.
• Wine Brokerage Brokerage service that connects buyers and sellers of fine and rare wines for two-way trading.
• En Primeur Early-access purchase program for Bordeaux wines bought before they are bottled and released, typically at preferential pricing.
• Wine Auction Auction platform for buying and selling rare and collectible wines among collectors and investors.
• Wine Cellaring Professional storage and cellaring service to preserve wine quality over time for collectors and investors.
• Wine Tastings Organized tasting events and wine education sessions for customers to sample wines from various regions and producers.
• Rare Blue-Chip Selection Curated offering of investment-grade and icon wines from prestigious producers and vintages, including Latour Pauillac 2000, Margaux 2020, and Haut-Brion 2000.
• Brice & Burnett Insiders Subscription Recurring subscription delivering curated mixed cases of wines bi-monthly at R1,490–R1,515 per delivery, with free delivery included.
• Stemware (Wine Glassware) Wine glassware and stemware accessories including Gabriel-Glas and Sydonios brands, sold alongside the wine retail offering.
• Mixed Cases Pre-curated mixed case selections featuring wines organized by region, style, or producer.
• Gift Selections Curated gift packaging and wine gift sets designed for special occasions and holiday gifting.

Quantifiable outcome

• 4.9 star customer rating from 150 reviews

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Norman Goodfellows: South Africa's most established premium wine and spirits retailer with physical stores and online presence. Directly competes with Brice & Burnett in the fine wine segment, targeting the same collector and connoisseur customer base in South Africa.
• Cybercellar: Long-running South African online wine merchant selling curated local and international wines. Closest direct competitor in the DTC online fine wine category, serving overlapping enthusiast and gift buyer segments.
• Vinimark: South African wine distribution and retail group supplying premium producers to retail and hospitality channels. Comparable in product depth and producer relationships though primarily wholesale-oriented.
• eWine: Online wine retailer operating in South Africa with curated selections and subscription offerings. Competes for the same online fine wine buyer, with overlap in subscription/box and gifting use cases.
• Probeer (formerly Wine of the Month Club SA): South African wine subscription club delivering curated cases monthly. Directly competes with the Brice & Burnett Insiders subscription product on price point, cadence, and target persona.

Broad incumbents

• Berry Bros. & Rudd: Historic UK fine wine merchant with global delivery, en primeur, brokerage, and auction services. Mirrors Brice & Burnett's vertically integrated service model (retail + en primeur + auction + cellaring) at much larger scale; serves as a strategic benchmark.
• Sotheby's Wine: Global fine wine auction house and broker. Comparable on the auction and brokerage service lines that Brice & Burnett offers, though operating internationally and at a larger scale.

Others

• Wine-Searcher: Global wine marketplace and price comparison platform that drives significant buyer intent traffic to retailers including Brice & Burnett. Adjacent ecosystem participant; not a direct competitor but a key demand channel for fine wine merchants.

Emerging players

• Vivino: Global wine marketplace and community app with a South African user base. Partially overlaps as a discovery and purchasing channel for fine wine; more mass-market positioning but increasingly encroaching into the curated segment.

Regional players

• Cape Wine Academy: South African wine education provider offering tastings, courses, and certifications. Overlaps with Brice & Burnett's tasting/events vertical and shares the same HNW enthusiast customer base in the Western Cape.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/WineCellarRSA

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Wine Cellar