ISSUED BY DKC (DE KOCK COMMUNICATIONS) ON BEHALF OF WINE
& SPIRIT BOARD
Matome Mbatha WOSA Market Manager for Americas and Africa
The new industry experts appointed by
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersen to the Wine
and Spirit Board will bring new thinking as well as an extensive skills base to
the deliberations of the board, says its new chairman, Matome Mbatha, himself a
marketing specialist.
Representing a well-balanced blend of
technical and industry expertise, the board comprises 13 members of whom eight
are from the industry. Of the remaining five, three are from the Department of
Agriculture, one is the minister’s personal representative and one is nominated
by the Agricultural Research Council.
Among the eight industry members, four are
young winemakers: Deon Boshoff, a cellar master at Distell, Olivia Poona from
Robertson Winery, Carmen Stevens of Amani Vineyards near Stellenbosch, and
Mario Damon from Bellingham.
The other industry representatives are Kurt
Moore, CEO of SALBA (SA Liquor Brand Owners’ Association), Michael Mokhoro of
Distell’s legal department who was previously the chairman of ARA (Industry
Association for Responsible Alcohol Use), and Riaan Kruger, chairman of the
Wine and Spirit Board’s management committee.
Matome Mbatha has been WOSA’s market manager
for the Americas and Africa since 2008. He is the first black chairman selected
from within industry ranks.
Commenting on his appointment, a senior
industry spokesperson said that with his understanding of the dynamics of
international markets, Mbatha was well placed to support the growth of wine as
one of South Africa's key agricultural exports.
Mbatha said significant challenges awaited the
new board, appointed for three years.
“One of our main functions is overseeing the certification of wine and
estate brandy in respect of cultivar, vintage and origin. In addition, we issue
a fully traceable integrity and sustainability seal attesting to production
integrity at every stage of the supply chain from vineyard to bottle.
“In 2012 the South African wine industry
introduced a second, ethical seal confirming that fair and reasonable working
conditions existed in the production of a particular wine. One of the tasks of
the new board will be to combine, by 2016, the two seals into a single one
which will attest to both the environmental and social sustainability of our
wines.
"A highly progressive initiative that
will certainly offer South Africa a competitive advantage, the combined seal
will provide consumers of our wines worldwide with the guarantee that their
purchases are underpinned by production integrity and fair labour practices.”
