Audrey D’Angelo
Wine exports earned R340.4 million for South Africa last year, Johann Krige, the chairman of export promotions agency Wines of SA (Wosa), said yesterday.
The wine industry contributes about R26 billion a year to gross domestic product, employing nearly 276 000 people.
Krige was speaking at the close of Wosa’s three-day Cape Wine international trade exhibition at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, which attracted nearly 1 500 delegates from across the globe. A record number of 304 producers and exhibitors took part.
He said in addition to buyers and delegates from traditional markets in western Europe, including Scandinavia, and from Canada, the highest number ever from Asia, eastern Europe and Africa attended.
The industry had “wowed the international wine community with an exciting and diverse range of quality wines and a fresh and inspiring approach that has demonstrated our world leadership in eco-sustainability and energy-efficiency among wine-producing nations. We showed very effectively that we are making better wines at all price points,” Krige added.
“The range of wineries was an excellent reflection of the industry and accurately represented the variety that our country is able to produce, from handcrafted artisanal speciality wines to popularly priced offerings for mainstream markets.
“We also hosted the biggest number of sommeliers in the history of Cape Wine. As the composers of wine menus for many popular and distinguished restaurants and hotels they are becoming increasingly influential trendsetters in terms of wines and wine sales, particularly across Europe and North America and, more recently, in the East,” he said.
“We had a high number of wine educators this year. These people play an important part in advising the wine and hospitality industry in addition to the retail trade, and influence many of the gatekeepers in the world of wine trading.”