South Africa: the impact of the health crisis on the wine industry [1/3]

Audio 02:22

Wine from the “Haut-Espoir” estate on the outskirts of Cape Town, South Africa.

© RFI / Claire Bargelès

By: Claire Bargelès Follow

6 mins

South Africa is the world's eighth largest producer of wine.

The sector employs nearly 300,000 people directly or indirectly and is trying to reorganize itself, while it is overwhelmed by unsold goods.

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From our special correspondent in Cape Town,

The harvest ended in the wine region around the city of Cape Town, and in particular on Rob Armstrong's “Haut-Espoir” estate, which has around ten hectares planted in the Franschhoek valley.

“This 

is our cellar, where the wines mature, they sometimes stay here 3 or 4 years before being bottled, 

” says Rob Armstrong.  

The various bans on the sale of alcohol, put in place to limit accidents and relieve hospitals during peaks of infections, have left wine growers with many unsold stocks on their hands. 

"It would be unwise to spend all this money"

If the industry saw a slight increase in volumes for 2021, Rob Armstrong made the choice to produce a quality vintage for the “Haut-Espoir” vineyard, but available in small quantities. 

“ 

As we are a small family estate, we have decided this year not to harvest everything.

We did not harvest all of our grapes, we got rid of about 60% of our fruit.

And this because of the cost that it represents then, between the bottles, the caps, the packaging.

For us, it would be unwise to spend all this money without being sure that we will have a return on our investments afterwards

 , ”says Rob Armstrong. 

"We are recovering from the crisis, but it will take time"

The “Creation Wines” estate, located near Hermanus, also had to face the consequences of the restrictions.

Its owner, Carolyn Martin, is doing it by cutting costs, and trying new experiences. 

“ 

We had to reduce our overheads and be very careful.

And we also did a lot of online tastings, thanks to our kits, in Europe, Sydney, and South Africa when it was authorized.

I think we are recovering from the crisis, but it will take time.

We're afloat, but we don't really know what this year will look like

 , ”says Carolyn Martin. 

Uncertainty for small producers turned to local sales

Those who fared best were the vineyards which already relied on exports abroad before the crisis, as explained by Zia van Rooyen du Toit, in charge of exports for the “Lanzerac” estate.

“ 

Our foreign customers are loyal to our brand, so for us it has been quite easy to step up our exports.

We have reached new markets, such as China.

So our export component has developed well during this period

”, says Zia van Rooyen du Toit.

The country also took advantage of the recent trade war between Australia and China to place its wines.

But for small producers focused on local sales, uncertainty still hangs over their future survival.

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