A new seal for South African wines, a world first.

Remember when we lived in harmony with the earth? Without a care in the world, and hardly a thought given to the future? It was only a few generations ago.

But then carefree became careless. We took more than the earth could give. Now it's clear we have to consider the future.

Of course, you knew that already. So the question is, what do we do about it?

Well, one of the things we're going to do in South Africa is make better wine. Or rather, make wine better. We've always produced quality wine, but from now on it's also going to be considerate wine. If we consider the earth now, there'll be more to raise our glasses to in the future.

So, from the 2010 vintage, we introduced a new seal for South African wines. The seal is a world first, and certifies a wine's integrity as well as sustainability.

"Integrity" is a guarantee of quality credentials: it says (a hundred percent of) the grapes come from the area shown on the bottle, (at least 85% of the grapes) are of that variety shown and 85% are from the vintage shown, and that the wine is bottled in South Africa.

"Sustainability" guarantees considerate credentials: it says the wine meets specific environmental guidelines, first set up in South Africa in 1998, and continually improved since then.

To qualify for the sustainability seal, wine producers must ensure the health and safety of their workers,. minimise their use of chemicals, and introduce natural predators into their farms.

They must protect the biodiversity of the world's richest floral kingdom.

They must clean up wastewater.

Farms and cellars are independently audited every three years. If they meet the criteria, they can use the new seal.

In 2010, around 60% of wine brands used it. In 2011, 85% will. After that, we expect to see it on all South African wines.

When you see it, you can use the numbers to trace the grapes from vine to bottle. And you know you're drinking wine that's respected the earth.

And while South Africa's new seal will do its bit for a happier, healthier future, in many ways, we're simply going back to the way we used to do things. Sustainability is coming full circle.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Sustainability
• Integrity
• Wine
• South Africa
• WOSA
• World-first
• Farms
• Cellars
• earth-friendly

[bokkoms22]

Impressed that South Africa is leading the way in the wine world on sustainability!

[bushybarryhutton]

Wow WOSA, this is brilliant verby!!! Mega thanks!

I'll be sure to re-youtube this :)

Kind regards,

Dave Hutton