Fair Trade Wine: South Africa's Post-Apartheid Vineyards and the Global Economy

Abstract

The history of unfair labour practices in South Africa's wine industry is as old as the sector itself, dating back to the seventeenth century. The situation, however, has begun to slowly change since the fall of Apartheid in 1994. While the South African wine industry is still largely white owned, the country's major wine production zone (the Western Cape) is now dotted with a variety of black-owned and black co-owned vineyards that are Fair Trade certified or marketing their wines as worker produced or black owned. This study explores these various arrangements (Fair Trade, worker produced, and black owned), and their connections to local and international wine markets. In particular, it explores the potential of these arrangements to create real change in labour conditions and the welfare of historically disadvantaged farm workers. In comparison to other agricultural sectors in South Africa, the wine industry is an especially interesting case because of its economic importance, growing export potential, and history of white dominance. A Chinese version of this article's abstract is available online at: www.informaworld.com/rglo