Joachim Ewert

Climate change and the future of South Africa's wine industry

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to attempt to synthesise the lessons from at least four different ways of looking at the South Africa wine industry: economics, climatology, viticulture, and the sociology of work.Design/methodology/approach – The economic performance of South Africas wine industry since democratisation in the early 1990s is reviewed, as is the effect of climate change on the industry. This is followed by an assessment of possible strategies for building international competitiveness whilst simultaneously coping with the effects of climate change.Findings – While industry systems should allow the marketing of speciality wines (e.g. from a single vineyard, from a single estate), this is not a viable strategy for most wine producers. Furthermore, climate change will lead to volatility in the characteristics that identify different terroirs.Practical implications – Industry strategies should rather focus on the benefits of diversity, but with a range of adaptations that will also res...

A historical irony in the making? State, private sector and land reform in the South African wine industry

This article traces the development of the land distribution policy of the Department of Land Affairs (DLA) of South Africa. Despite the DLA s political commitment to land reform by way of restitution, redistribution and tenure reform, to date no small-scale wine farmers have been settled in South Africa by virtue of this policy. Three case studies describe how agricultural labourers have successfully gained access to this lucrative sector through private sector intervention. It is also argued that the small farm versus large farm debate masks the real opportunities for land reform in the wine industry.

Strategic challenges facing South African wine co-operatives: upgrading or bulk production?

Emerging from decades of regulation and international isolation in the early 1990s, investment flowed into the South African wine industry, new vineyards were established, co-operatives modernized themselves, process and product ‘upgrading’ took place, wine quality improved, and export volumes increased dramatically, much of it sold in bulk. While this has inevitably stimulated innovation, the financial rewards for ‘basic’ quality are limited. Thus after two decades of upgrading, where do South African wine co-operatives, who produce most of the exports, go from here? Conventional global value chain theory (GVC) suggests that improving quality and adding further value is the way forward. However, given the classical constraints of co-operatives, is the higher quality trajectory a realistic option? Drawing on detailed case studies the paper argues that it is not only remnants of traditional principles that stand in the way of South Africas ‘new generation’ co-operatives moving up the value chain, but also the high costs involved.

The political maintenance of ‘skill’: Labour process changes and artisan domination in the South African printing industry

Since the early 1950s, the labour process in South African print shops and newspapers has undergone revolutionary changes. However, the extensive deskilling and wholesale destruction of erstwhile c...