Wine: A bad taste in the mouth

From Businesslive

By  STAFFORD THOMAS

A year ago the Wall Street Journal declared SA wines “the best fine wines for your money “. Many others have dished out praise, including Tim Atkin, a leading international wine critic, who in 2014 wrote: ” [SA] is one of the most exciting and dynamic wine-producing countries in the world.”

After years of marketing by producers and industry organisations to have SA wines recognised as being among the world’s finest, things finally seemed to be coming right.

Then, in October, came the release in Denmark and Sweden of Bitter Grapes – Slavery in the Vineyards, a 58-minute documentary directed by Danish filmmaker Tom Heinemann.

Sweden and Denmark are among the top-10 importers of SA wine and account for a combined 11% (45Ml) of annual exports.

Fuelled by headlines such as “SA wines removed from Danish shelves”, the documentary — which is also likely to be aired in the UK, SA’s biggest export market, the US, Germany and Norway — sent shock waves through the local wine industry.

(Full story here)