KWV chairman Marcel Golding made a serious mistake when he “fired” CEO Thys Loubser last month. For Thys is the grandson of Maggie Laubser, one that trio of strong women (the other two are Irma Stern and Maude Sumner) who pretty much sum up SA decorative arts for the 20th century. KWV’s canniest investments and most valuable assets today are the art works accumulated over nine decades when their gray shoes were placed firmly on the neck of SA wine producers and consumers including some important works by Cecil Skotnes.

Paintings like Irma’s harvest scene (above) are today worth more than entire KWV brands although the way forward for the Paarl producer may be contract production for Hein Koegelenberg who recently landed a 500 000 case export order to China. No mean feat given that SA’s entire annual export to the land of Mao and maotai was 600 000 cases last year. Hein has also teamed up with former president FW de Klerk to make 3000 magnums of a presidential cuvée, profits to go to FW’s foundation for the defense of the SA constitution.