Cape selected to host world experts in wine tourism

Andre Morgenthal (left), a member of the Cape Town chapter of the Great Wine Capitals Global Network and Mayor Clarence Johnson of the Cape Winelands Municipality. Mayor Johnson is co-hosting the network’s meeting in the Cape with Mayor Helen Zille.

Amongst the issues they will be tackling will be how to boost the R6,75bn annually generated by wine tourism in the Western Cape to create more jobs, skills and revenue and also the region's leadership in sustainable wine production.

Both Mayor Helen Zille and Mayor Clarence Johnson will welcome delegates from the network, who represent the world's most prominent cities associated with wine. Working in close concert with each other to maximise the value of Cape Town's participation in the network, they will receive the contingent of high-level visitors from government, commerce and hospitality on Sunday, 9 November. The visitors will be coming from Bilbao- Rioja (Spain), Bordeaux (France), Florence (Italy), Mainz (Germany), Mendoza (Argentina), Porto (Portugal) and San Francisco-Napa (United States). Over the course of almost a week, they will focus on ways to advance international wine tourism, as well as to promote greater economic, academic and cultural links amongst the eight-country network.

This will be the second time the Mother City hosts the organisation. The first occasion was in 2002, after Cape Town's invitation to join the network a year earlier. According to André Morgenthal, who serves on the committee of the local chapter, at last year's meeting of the network, there was a unanimous support for holding the 2008 event in Cape Town, at the suggestion of the organisation's vice president, Mayor Johnson.

“We have several of the network's mayors attending, as well as the heads of major regional wine associations and international leaders in regional wine marketing. For some, this will be their first visit to Cape Town and the country. There are the obvious attractions of Cape Town and the Winelands, but a major drawcard is our industry's focus on sustainability. South Africa is a world leader in eco-sensitive wine production. Our Integrated Production of Wine is regarded as the most progressive production integrity programme of its kind and is one of only two in the world to be independently audited. Our system of production integrity is linked to the Biodiversity & Wine Initiative that seeks to conserve indigenous habitat in the Winelands. Both programmes serve as important models in sustainability for other wine-producing countries.”

Cape Town was also recently named one of the top 10 cities in the world on track to become a global sustainable centre by 2020 by the Ethisphere Institute, the only city in the network to achieve this distinction. The Ethisphere Institute is a think tank dedicated to the research and promotion of profitable best practices in governance, business ethics, compliance and corporate social responsibility.

Morgenthal said South Africa had also earned widespread respect for its ability to successfully build an international profile in wine markets in the short time since the advent of democracy, 14 years ago. “South Africa's wine industry is something of an enigma. We are considered a New World producer, yet we have been making wine for well over three centuries. Next year we shall celebrate the 350th anniversary of winemaking in this country.”

He said South Africa had recently won the highest number of trophies on the Decanter World Wine Awards in London and was the fastest-growing wine category in UK retail. Worldwide, exports had reached record levels with over 363 million litres sold off-shore during the 12 months to July 2008, an increase of 27% on the previous 12 months. “This achievement is way ahead of the originally anticipated target of 300 million litres a year we were hoping to reach by 2010.

“But we still need to fully exploit the potential of wine tourism. Currently the wine industry contributes an estimated R24bn to South Africa's GDP of which 70% directly benefits the Western Cape economy. Wine tourism generates an additional R6,75bn but we believe there is still significant scope for expanding revenue, skills and job opportunities that take advantage of the inherent beauty and excellent infrastructure in the regions where South Africa produces wine.”

The Great Wine Capitals Global Network will be meeting in Cape Town from November 9 to 13. The gathering will culminate in a gala evening at Vergelegen, South Africa's winner of the Best of Wine Tourism Awards presented by the network in both 2006 and 2007.