WOSA throws in the towel

For WOSA CEO Su Birch, driving force behind the SA wine export body, the Riedel seems to be half empty. As she told Bloomberg last Thursday: “I think South Africa’s [export] performance will be pretty much the same as last year with little or no growth, but I don’t think exports will shrink much further.” I’d always thought a generic marketing body like WOSA was a bit like that department inside the Israeli government that sends Mark Regev onto CNN to put a positive spin on the shooting of peace activists on ships bound for Gaza.

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I’m more of a glass half full kind of guy and argue this morning on winenews that the invitation to join BRIC can transform SA wine exports in the same way the release of Nelson Mandela kick-started the export boom a generation ago. But if WOSA are predicting exports will be stagnant, it’s going to be hard to motivate producers to get out there and sell.

My thoughts on the coming BRIC revolution in yesterday’s Sunday Times.