Agriculture in general and wine production in particular has reached a point at which change is not just desirable, it’s essential to profitability and long term sustainability. The South African wine industry has seen incremental growth in production over the last twelve years. However, production in the last year has shown a 5% drop. Pressure on the industry is intensifying as vineyards age and international competition for market share increases.

Willie Du Plessis, Standard Bank Director of Agricultural Banking says: “The local wine industry is not only an important contributor to the agricultural sector as a whole, but is also an industry that lends itself to national prestige and has a very important tourism focus. It is a treasure that needs to be jealously guarded and nurtured. However, a host of local and international factors have forced producers to re-examine their business models, cultivars and markets. Producers should be acutely aware of making decisions based on current events without an eye on the future.”

South African producers are experiencing a production trend towards white wine cultivars. This as the price of white wines catch up to a red wine market that is taking strain from global over supply.  Producers have taken advantage of this trend and shifted focus to white wine productions. Producers being willing to change their wine stock is a good thing, because they are managing risk better through diversifying their cultivar composition and using a balanced crop to mitigate the risks associated with different varietals. Changing vines and balancing varietals are ways to ensure biodiversity.