When a wine is awarded bronze, silver or gold status by the Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show it means more than just a glittering sticker on the side of the bottle. The event creates an environment that explores and encourages excellence.
“The Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show creates a critical environment in which producers can get genuine and impartial feedback on their wines, and can gauge the response of their potential international markets through the international judges who form part of the panels,” says leading wine authority and chair of the Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show judging panel, Michael Fridjhon.
“The Trophy Wine Show has, in the fourteen years of its existence, contributed to the international benchmarking which has played a key role in both increasing the value and volume of wine exports,” he says. “Since many of the international judges are also influential international commentators, it has helped Cape wine to increase its visibility on the world stage.”
There’s no doubt that the wine industry has become big business in South Africa. From the hotspot of the Western Cape to the unexpected sight of vineyards along the Orange River in the arid Northern Cape, wine plays a defining role in South Africa’s economic landscape. The statistics are there to back up the perception too.
Wines of South Africa (WOSA), an organisation that represents all South African producers of wine who export their products, notes that currently 99 463 hectares of vines producing wine grapes are under cultivation in South Africa over an area some 800 kilometres in length.
Last year this report prepared by Conningarth Economists for the South African Wine Industry Information and Systems (SAWIS) highlighted the size and economic importance of the industry.
The SAWIS report also says that some 300 000 people were employed both directly and indirectly in the wine industry in 2015, including farm labourers, those involved in packaging, retailing and wine tourism.
The study also concluded that of the R36.1 billion gross domestic product (GDP) contributed by the wine industry to the regional economy, about R19.3 billion eventually would remain in the Western Cape to the benefit of its residents.
“It’s fair to say that some visitors come to South Africa purely thanks to the allure of our wine farms,” says Fridjhon. “Wine tourism is an important international phenomenon and the proximity of the winelands to Cape Town is an important positive factor in attracting tourists and thereby further benefiting the regional economy.
Years ago Fridjhon also set up the Wine Judging Academy, which is run with the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business. This has enabled South Africa to develop a body of skilled and insightful local judges which, according to Fridjhon, has also helped the industry to become more self-critical. “Since many of the newly trained judges are themselves winemakers, their experiences from the Academy and from attending the feedback session which follows the Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show judging has helped to mould their aesthetic vision for their own wines.”
Karen Thomas, Old Mutual Head of Brand, says that a core aim of Old Mutual’s sponsorships is to create a lasting legacy. “It’s important for us to align with projects that make a meaningful difference. We are excited to play a key role in discovering talent and highlighting it both locally and on the international stage and we enjoy building relationships with wine lovers all over South Africa. Skills development is an important element of all our sponsorships and we are pleased to also support the development of world-class wine judges through the Wine Judging Academy.”
Currently, South Africa produces just over four percent of the world’s wine. What’s exciting, says Fridjhon, is that the country as a wine region is starting to make waves, and much of that has to do with events like the Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show. “The fact that South Africa is widely regarded as the most exciting wine region in the world at present is a tribute to the role played by the Trophy Wine Show in helping to modernise the South African wine industry.”
Old Mutual