The Wine and Biodiversity Initiative

The plants of the Cape are varied and distinctive, just like the wines that come from there, argues Su Birch, CEO of Wines of South Africa. Christian Eedes interviewed her.

As part of this year's International Wine & Spirits Competition in the UK, the Champagne Lanson Women in Wine Award went to Su Birch, CEO of Wines of South Africa (WOSA), the not-for-profit company that represents all local wine exporters.

Since South African wine went international after democracy, it has enjoyed remarkable success. In the case of the important UK market, it currently has a 10% market share, up from less than 1% in 1994, and now finds itself jostling with Italy for the position of fourth biggest importer behind Australia, France and the USA in that order.

In recent times WOSA, with Birch at the helm, has played a key role in making these gains. But South Africa will simply not be able to sustain this growth in terms of volume, and will have to look to increase its market share in terms of value, not just in the UK but all over the world.

At present the country has just over 100 000ha of vineyard planted, with possible expansion limited to 160 000ha basically as a result of further suitable land not being available.

Consider that in 2004, Spain had 1,2 million ha under vine and China (hardly a recognised wine producer) 450 000ha, and you quickly realise that South Africa is soon to be relegated to a niche producer, even if it is eighth largest in the world at the moment.

Confronted by this business challenge, Birch and WOSA were compelled to come up with a positioning that elevated South Africa from simply a source of cheap and cheerful quaffers to purveyor of fine wines of unique provenance.

Birch admits that she struggled initially. She observes that what is most typically associated with South Africa is not generally associated with wine or is already owned by other wine-producing countries. And you have to agree. On the one hand roaring lions and Ndebele design; on the other hand "sunshine in a glass" - a notion that Australian wine took ownership of a long time ago.

On a slightly more sophisticated level, WOSA considered positioning South African wine as stylistically "midway between the Old and New World", something along the lines of "the best of both worlds". But, as Birch points out, just about any New World wine-producing country can claim this.

Towards the end of 2004, she called in top wine industry consultant, James Herrick of wineprofit.com, and the two brainstormed a positioning that would give South Africa the competitive edge over the next 15 years.

Initially, they were enamoured with the idea of "diversity". Birch observes that South African wines are not "homogenous", her point being that there's very little consistency of style among varieties, even within regions, and it must be conceded that this is largely true.

 

On reflection, Birch realised that this direction lacked substance. "Everything to everybody" is not very compelling and would ultimately have been "difficult to sell", she asserts.

When "diversity" became "biodiversity", Birch suddenly felt she had something that could significantly differentiate local wine from that of the rest of the world. According to her, the abundant variety of the Cape Floral Kingdom (see sidebar opposite) is a clear indication of the potential that South Africa has to make authentic and distinctive wines.

It has all been summed up in the line "Variety is in our Nature" and Birch launched her blitzkrieg accordingly, culminating in the so-called Mega Tasting in London towards the end of last year.

She says that it has been well received by the international media: "The wine nerds get their head around it easily.

Biodiversity is simply terroir in different language." But she concedes that it's not the simplest concept to get across to the consumer, so her aims are more modest at that level. "All we are looking to do is promote South African wines as authentic, natural and hand-crafted."

Nevertheless, wines at entry level traditionally cater for the lowest common denominator. The question is put to Birch that if the local wine industry is to adopt biodiversity as a crucial component of its marketing strategy, then there is the very real danger of alienating the mass market Birch provides a ready defence. "When buying wine, consumers are prepared for a story. Not a long story, but a story nonetheless. They want more of a story than if they were buying beer or fishcakes."

She lists numerous strengths and opportunities emerging out of the positioning.

On a fundamental level, associating wine with the Cape Floral Kingdom means that flowers become new signifiers in the wine vocabulary. The Cape's flowers are visually appealing and can be used to good effect above and below the line (especially at trade shows to differentiate South Africa from the competition). In particular, they allow for exciting graphic design.

WOSA's marketing focus on biodiversity comes with the aim to solicit a greater conservation effort from wine farmers (see sidebar overleaf). "Aligning South
African wine with biodiversity plays into all the fears and anxieties that [developed country] consumers have about health and the environment," says Birch astutely.

Since 80% of the Cape Floral Kingdom is in private hands, it is crucial that those landowners are convinced of the merits of utilising their land in such a way so
as to preserve biodiversity. But aren't conservation ideals at odds with financial greed?

Birch is confident that being a custodian of the land appeals to "the psyche" of the South African farmer. "Most aren't industrial farmers. They have a genuine, deep-rooted love of the land."

As far as she is concerned, the biodiversity-wine tie-up will not be left on an abstract level. She has promulgated The Wine Grower/Producer's Commitment, something of a credo that obligates the individual farmer to "work with nature to the benefits of all".

She reveals that this was difficult to conceptualise, as she didn't want it to involve a formal audit nor be so vague as to have no meaning.

By involving the more imaginative figures in the industry such as Bruce Jack of Flagstone, she feels she's arrived at a statement of belief that will have credence. In addition, there's the "Diversity Survey", whereby WOSA intends to catalogue what is unique and of special interest in the winelands, be it rare flora and fauna or something of historical heritage.

All this will be collated, and presented in April at Cape Wine 2006, the third biannual event of its kind to showcase local wine to the world. Birch believes that the very act of thinking about biodiversity, whether by producer or consumer, will generate more positive energy so that eventually the whole initiative becomes self-erpetuating.

She is concerned that she is "greenwashing" the industry, but that is effectively what she is doing and it has to be said that it is a stroke of brilliance. She observes that a premium proposition when selling wine necessarily comes down to provenance. As a result, the thought that South Africa has the most interesting wines because it has the most interesting dirt is almost irresistible.

The world's first biodiversity wine route

The Green Mountain Eco Route launched in October 2005 is the first of a whole new category of wine routes in South Africa whereby the visitor experience is structured to showcase both the natural environment as well as the wines of a particular area.

This first route incorporates the 34 000ha Groenlandberg Conservancy with participating wineries being Beaumont Wines, Goedvertrouw, Luddite, Oak Valley Wines, Paul Cluver Wines and Villiersdorp Cellar. Various eco-tourism activities are on offer including hiking, mountain biking, trout fishing and guided flower and birding walking trails.

"variety is in our nature"
WOSA's positioning for South African wines in the global market essentially comes down to the idea that the same terroir (soil and climate) which results in the Cape Floral Kingdom's abundant and complex biodiversity leads to the varied and distinctive styles enjoyed in Cape wines.

Did you know?
o The Cape Floral Kingdom (CFK) stretches 90 000km² from the Cederberg up the West Coast to Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape.
o Of the six great floral kingdoms on earth, the CFK is the smallest and richest.
o The CFK contains more than 9 600 plant species, more than occur in the entire Northern hemisphere.
o There are more plant species on Table Mountain than there are in the whole of the United Kingdom.

The biodiversity & wine initiative (bwi)

The BWI is a partnership between the conservation sector and the local wine industry to minimise further loss of natural habitat and contribute to sustainable wine production. It is premised on a memorandum of understanding between the Botanical Society and the SA Wine and Brandy Company.

There is currently one BWI Champion (exemplary level) and 21 wineries are BWI Members (entry level). Together, they have 11 743ha set aside for conservation. The wineries involved are:

Champion
Vergelegen

Members
Avondale
Backsberg
Beaumont Vineyards
Black Pearl Wines
Boschendal
De Grendel
Delheim
False Bay Vineyards
GlenWood
Hartenberg
Koopmanskloof
Louisenhof
Montagne
Mooiplaas
Oak Valley Wines
Paul Cluver Wines
Plaisir de Merle
Rooiberg Winery
Spier
Towers
Tulbagh Mountain Vineyards

How to become part of the BWI

Interested growers and producers may become a BWI Member or Champion on application.

For more information on the qualification criteria, contact Sue Winter, the BWI Extension Officer on Tel (021) 886 8428 or send an email to bwi@sawb.co.za