By focusing (in Off License News last week) on the 700 previously disadvantaged individuals who didn’t get trained as wine waiters (rather than the 1300 who did) in the brave industry initiative to magick-up 2010 brand new sommeliers in time for the FIFA soccer World Cup, UK controversial commentator Tim Atkin is once again playing the “glass third empty rather that two thirds full” game. It’s a mini foreign replay of the unfortunate Financial Mail survey of the wine industry.

I had the illuminating experience of observing FIFA supremo Sepp Blatter in a Gauteng restaurant earlier this month. The rotund FIFA chief had no complaints about sommelier service as the wine was presented by the establishment owner, on his knees. After lunch digestif? Cognac, of course. This was after all a World Cup played (and paid for) in Africa, not an African World Cup.

SA still short of sommeliers

One of the bright young trainers reacted to Atkins’ column: “He doesn’t understand a thing and continues to sow negativity when his pen could actually be used to create another reality that can conform to his view of the way the world should be. Although, this reality might be negative for him because suddenly wine would be too expensive… blah blah!”

But, as in the case of those other Atkin attacks – SA reds made from burnt rubber, SA bottles made from kryptonite, etc. – rather than attempt to explain the sommelier shortfall (lack of funding, lack of promised foreign supporters, Jacob Zuma teetotal, too many parties to launch the project) the best defense is attack and in this case, penguin-like FIFA figures make excellent targets. It’s all FIFA’s fault.