The funniest thing about being a former colonial dependency is how former capitals are the last thing to be ditched. A phenomenon well flavoured by the jus of cultural cringe. When Just Riesling held its tasting competition in London recently, cynics concluded it was for the transparent reason of bringing SA’s hardest sell white varietal to the attention of the Queen of Riesling, Jancis Robinson, (confirmed by the appointment of her offsider as a judge). Of course Johannesburg would have made more sense, as if it’s not the largest market for SA Riesling, then it should be, or even Cape Town as Egon Müller, Dirk van der Niepoort and Michael Moosbrugger were in town and what a star-studded Riesling panel that would have been. No SA judges needed, bonus!

Likewise, the largest threat ever faced by SA wine, that of land nationalization, is discussed by the chairman of SA’s second largest retailer in London. Or did I miss the debate in local wine circles? With the government’s aptly named Green Paper on land reform scheduled to be released once the serious business of the Fifa soccer World Cup is concluded, let’s hope SA wine has been lobbying like Julius in the corridors of power. The steaming entrails don’t look or smell especially propitious as Gareth Ackerman told the London summit of the Global Consumer Goods Forum yesterday that “a lack of clear government policy on land ownership was a threat to global food security.” So where does that leave SA wine?

Land grabs aside, Gareth raised the thorny issue of the dominance of large supermarket chains in retail which is shaping up as a major stumbling block to small producers with insufficient stock to feed the ravenous distribution chains of Pick ‘n Pay and Checkers. With one supermarket chain employing teetotal wine buyers, another buying by Platter sighted planetariums and a third misleading consumers with inappropriate advertising, SA supermarket wine retail is one area that needs its own dedicated London conference.