The February numbers from SAWIS won’t make happy reading in the bucolic HQ of WOSA (Wines of SA, the exporters’ deep throat) in Oak City (Stellenbosch) as the collapse of SA wine exports gathers pace. The 12, 9, 3 and 1 month wine export decreases confirm an accelerating trend of 4.6%, 7.1%, 8.3% and 8.6% and the chill winds of retrenchment must be whistling through the corridors as the organization depends on export levies for its R38 million annual budget, most of which is used to pay salaries and running expenses.

But it’s not all bad news for producers as domestic sales take off with volumes up 2.7%, 5.2%, 8% and 6.5% over the same periods. Given that most producers make more on a bottle of wine sold locally than one exported, it’s not all doom and gloom in the cellar.

Wine distilled into Brandy

But brandy producers are staring into the abyss. The volumes of wine distilled into brandy are under severe pressure, as the above graphic confirms. Note the figures for 2010 and 2011 are estimates.