SA Wine industry recognised abroad for ethical practices

As the South African wine industry continues to grow exports, it is also achieving increasing international recognition for its ethical approach to winemaking, says Wines of South Africa (WOSA) CEO Su Birch. Within the space of a few weeks SA was acknowledged by influential UK trade publication The Drinks Business, winning its Ethical Award for 2009 while also earning the lion's share of trophies and prizes in the Fairtrade Wine Committee's competition for best wines of the year, held in London.

The Ethical Award was presented to Project Laduma, WOSA's programme established to train 2,010 wine stewards ahead of the 2010 World Cup, funded mainly through the sale of Fundi Wines, created for the purpose. These wines are selling in a range of markets abroad, including the UK, North America and Japan. Candidates for training are drawn from both the hospitality industry and the ranks of the unemployed.

Birch said that Fairtrade, initiated to protect workers across a range of industries, had helped to focus international attention on the importance of fair labour practices in promoting socio-economic sustainability. Research conducted by Globescan earlier this year had found that 87% of UK consumers believed the issue of payment to farmers or their workers in developing countries was important.

The first Fairtrade certified wine to be launched in the UK was a South African product, Thandi Pinot Noir. There are now more than 250 Fairtrade-certified wines available in the UK, sourced from South Africa, Chile and Argentina.

South African producers won the 2009 trophies for Best Overall Fairtrade Wine, Best Fairtrade Red Wine and Best Fairtrade White Wine. The top prize and also the prize for best red went to Isabelo Pinotage 2008, while the prize for the best white went to Six Hats Sauvignon Blanc 2009. The title of Best Fairtrade Sparkling Wine was won by the Co-operative Fairtrade Cape Sparkling Rosé NV, produced by Du Toitskloof Cellars.

Decanter, a prominent British consumer magazine with an international readership, chose six South African wines for its top ten list of Fairtrade wines. These included wines from Isabelo, Hope's Garden, Thandi, Fairhills and two produced for the Co-operative Group.

Birch said that WIETA, the Agricultural Ethical Trading Initiative SA, founded in 2002, had also helped local producers to raise working conditions on wine farms. The organisation had established a code of good practice governing labour standards to encourage reform. It was also collaborating with major retailers abroad to build support for its objectives.

South Africa boasts the fastest growth rate of wine sales amongst its competitors in the UK with a volume share of the market at just over 10%.

The 2010 World Cup gets closer..... 32 teams, concerts, expo's and more!

The 32 teams that have qualified for the 2010 World Cup are: Portugal, France, Slovenia, Greece, Algeria, Uruguay, Japan, the Netherlands, North Korea, Australia, South Korea, the USA, Brazil, Ghana, England, Paraguay, Spain, Denmark, Ivory Coast, Chile, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Serbia, Argentina, Switzerland, Honduras, Slovakia, Nigeria, Cameroon, New Zealand and South Africa.

The new Cape Town Stadium has been completed and handed over by the building contractors to the City of Cape Town, reports the Cape Argus. The R 4,5 billion stadium has had all its seats installed, the grass pitch has been grown from seeds planted 3 weeks ago, the outer facade has been re-cleaned and painted after the storms earlier this month dirtied some of the exterior, and the signage erected, all in time for the roof-wetting party.

The stadium allows spectators a good view onto the pitch. Spectators will not be more than 190 meters away from the soccer action. Two special VIP boxes are contained in the stadium - one for FIFA President Sepp Blatter, and the other one is speculated to be for President Jacob Zuma. Three events will be held at the Cape Town Stadium in the first half of next year, to test it before the 2010 World Cup.

Despite sales of 650 000 World Cup tickets in total to date, few of them have been sold to African soccer fans, with the exception of those in South Africa, report the Cape Times and Cape Argus. South Africans (350 000) have bought just more than half of all the World Cup tickets, followed by soccer fans from the USA (86 000), the UK (50 000), and Germany (25 000). Addressing Parliament earlier this month, World Cup Local Organising Committee CEO Danny Jordaan speculated that soccer fans from Africa were waiting for their teams to qualify before they bought tickets.

During the 2010 World Cup, the Global Icons Expo-Tainment Experience will take place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, for the duration of the World Cup, reports Southern African Tourism Update. The expo sees 24 countries exhibiting, a different country every day, reflecting that country’s “sights, sounds and flavours in one global village.

The company that organised Live Aid 1985 and Live Earth 2007 has been appointed by FIFA to organise a rock concert in the Orlando Stadium on the day before the start of the 2010 World Cup, i.e. on 10 June. Emmy Award-winning producer Kevin Wall and his company Control Room will produce the Official Kick-Off Celebration Concert, a 3-hour event featuring major international and African pop stars, together with special appearances by past and present football stars. The show will be broadcast around the world, and is expected to be the biggest entertainment event ever to be hosted in Africa. All proceeds after expenses will go to the FIFA 2010 World Cup “20 centers for 2010″ campaign. No details have been announced as to the stars that have been invited to perform. The concert organizer wants the concert to be an African music concert in the first instance. Beyonce, Jay-Z, and the Black Eyed Peas are some of the stars that will be invited.

The Western Cape province and the BBC have signed a deal, which allows the BBC to set up its broadcasting headquarters on top of the Somerset Hospital close to the new Cape Town stadium, and adjacent to the V & A Waterfront, reports the Cape Times. A special glass top roof will be constructed on top of the hospital building, allowing the BBC to broadcast the 2010 World Cup from Cape Town with a view of Table Mountain, and of the Cape Town Stadium. Soccer star Gary Lineker will be the BBC’s host for the soccer event. The studio will not interfere with the operation of the hospital.

Green Point Stadium in Cape Town to be finished by December 2009!

The image of Cape Town is uniquely characterised by the interaction of Table Mountain and Signal Hill - a soft, hilly landscape, and the surrounding Atlantic Ocean. Green Point Stadium sits at the foot of Signal Hill. The exterior shell of the stadium was designed as an abstract, linearly arranged membrane construction.

Cape Town's new Green Point Stadium is well on schedule for the handover of the stadium to the City of Cape Town on 14 December 2009. The glass roof of the new Cape Town Stadium will be completed and sealed, and the fabric membrane underneath fully installed by 15 October 2009.

With less than three months to the deadline for completion of the stadium, contractors are busy with the final touches to what many visitors and journalists believe will be one of the finest stadia in the world. Cape Town will host eight World Cup matches at the stadium, most of them at night, including one semi-final.

All the concrete work is complete, and the focus is now on commissioning cabling, IT infrastructure and electricity connections. Closed circuit television cameras, used to monitor crime and crowd behaviour, are still to be installed.The main work still to be appears to be the surrounding areas - car parks etc.

Construction of the steel support columns for the exterior fabric façade of the stadium is 70% complete, and the fabric will be attached as weather permits. The outer 'skin' - which will give a warm glow to the light emanating from the stadium - is scheduled for completion by the end of November 2009.

Work is also underway on the internal architectural finishes such as painting, ceilings, doors and locks. Most of the inside equipment has been installed on five of the six levels.

Over a quarter of the 68,000 seats have been installed, and the multi-layered foundations are being laid for the pitch. Temporary seating to raise capacity from 55,000 to 68,000 for the World Cup will be installed early in 2010.

Two pitches have been prepared in Stellenbosch, one of which will be held in reserve. The grass pitch is due to be laid in October!!!

Things you might not know about the new Green point Stadium:

• There are 7,4 kilometres of steel cabling in the stadium roof
• The glass covers 37 000 square metres and there are about 9 000 pieces of glass
• The roof weighs 4 500 tons
• Under the stadium are police holding cells, a large media centre, a drop-off zone for players and VIPs, practise and warming-up areas and lifts to the upper levels.