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wine.co.za kept MariaDB as its primary data store and added Manticore Search as a separate search layer. The site copies searchable data to Manticore daily and sends search requests through a .NET library. According to Manticore Search’s September 29, 2026 case study, the change enabled searches combining descriptive terms—such as “dry chenin stellenbosch”—and improved autocomplete suggestions. The case study reports those functional gains but publishes no before-and-after performance measurements.
What was difficult about the old search?
Before adding Manticore, wine.co.za used MariaDB full-text indexes and wildcard queries. WineNet IT Director Kevin Kidson said users needed to know what they were looking for, or at least how to begin spelling it. That made the old approach less useful when someone could describe a wine but did not know its name.
Kidson described the change in query flexibility this way: “It has allowed me to combine search words, so dry chenin from Stellenbosch etc — I could never do that before.” The case study says searchers could combine style, grape variety and region, and enter the terms in a different order.
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What was in the searchable archive?
The case study lists 144,915 records in six collections. These counts are attributed to the case study and interviewee response, not an independently audited inventory.
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| Collection | Records |
|---|---|
| Wineries | 907 |
| Wines | 45,833 |
| Contacts | 4,644 |
| International agents | 3,447 |
| News articles | 41,602 |
| Classified adverts | 48,482 |
| Six-collection total | 144,915 |
The case study notes that wine.co.za also has several smaller databases, so the six-collection total is not a count of every database on the site.
How MariaDB and Manticore work together
MariaDB remained responsible for storing and updating the source data. The site copies searchable data from MariaDB to Manticore once a day, then the website sends search requests to Manticore through a .NET library. In this arrangement, Manticore handles search while MariaDB remains the primary data store.
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- Source data: stored and updated in MariaDB.
- Search index: searchable data is copied to Manticore daily.
- Queries: the website connects to Manticore through a .NET library.
What changed for users?
Search across several descriptive terms
Rather than relying on a user to begin with a known name or spelling, the reported improvement was the ability to combine terms describing a wine. “Dry chenin stellenbosch” is the case study’s example of a query that brings style, grape variety and place together.
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Manticore also powers autocomplete suggestions in wine.co.za’s search boxes. Kidson characterized the combined change as “MUCH better searching across the site — and MUCH better suggestions in drop-downs etc.” These are his reported impressions, not independently measured usability findings.
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How much effort did implementation take?
Kidson estimated that installing Manticore and learning how to use it took about 24 hours in total. Because he fitted the work around other responsibilities, he recalls it spanning roughly two days. This is his estimate for wine.co.za’s installation, not a general implementation-time benchmark; the case study does not provide a comparable estimate for other teams or systems.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What does the case study establish about performance and reliability?
Kidson described Manticore as “just so damn solid” and said it had been running “rock solid for years.” He also said he did not have to worry about it. Those statements convey his experience, but the case study does not publish before-and-after latency, resource-use or other detailed performance figures. It therefore supports a description of the reported search features and operational experience, not a numerical claim about speed gains or a guarantee for other deployments.
The source is Manticore Search’s vendor-published case study dated September 29, 2026. It attributes the operational details and opinions to Kidson, WineNet’s IT Director.
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