Thesis (MScAgric (Soil Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / This thesis forms part of a research program that is investigated by ARC Infruitec- Nietvoorbij and the University of Stellenbosch. The aim of this program is to quantify the effect of soil and climate on wine quality and character as a basis for scientific demarcation of production regions. Natural factors are first quantified and characterised so that relative homogeneous natural terroir units (NTU) can be identified. Thereafter wines made from these different localities are assessed for similarities which permit grouping of localities into viticultural terroirs. The present study involved seven research plots in the Robertson district, making use of initial measurements by ARC Infruitec-Nietvoorbij in the 2000/01 and 2001/02 seasons together with more intensive measurements in the 2002/03 and 2003/04. The seven plots are located in two wards, Le Chasseur and Vinkrivier. Sauvignon blanc plots were marked at two localities, each with two sub-plots occurring in one block. Three Cabernet Sauvignon plots were marked out. Two plots occurred in one block in Le Chasseur and one plot in Vinkrivier. Plots within the same block were located on different soil types so that the effect of soil type on wine quality and character could be monitored. Morphological examination of soil profiles at each plot was carried out together with physical and chemical analysis of samples taken at 30cm depth intervals. Soil water content was measured at regular intervals to assess soil water tension. Vineyard performance was assessed in terms of phenology, root system studies, leafwaterpotential measurements, canopy quality assessment, leaf analysis, shoot growth, and data relating to ripening, harvest and pruning. Wines were made from each plot by ARC Infruitec- Nietvoorbij and evaluated by a tasting panel after six months and then again after eighteen months. Meteorological data were collected in each ward.

Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The South African wine industry has made huge strides in the global wine market since one-channel marketing through the KWV was abandoned and the South African produced wines entered the traditional and emerging wine markets in Europe, Eastern Europe and the Americas. It did not take the South African wine producers and marketers very long to shift their focus to the international markets where deals made in the international currencies held the promise of great profits for successful wine exporters. With the opening of the markets, the trends and tastes of these buyers also influenced the wine styles and the way the South African producer managed his business. Although wine making in South Africa dates back over three hundred years, the re-entering into international wine markets held a great challenge to producers who were unfamiliar with the forces that dictated what and how things had to be done in the international wine arena. The emergence of the new potential for wine producers in global wine markets caught the attention of successful businessmen who ventured into wine making, as most had already developed a passion for wine. Dr. Christo Wiese bought Lanzerac wine Estate in the early nineties, and a few years later bought one of the historic farms in the Western Cape called Lourensford. He set out to develop this fruit farm into one of the top family-owned Wine Estates in the country, with the aim of creating a world renowned South African family-owned wine brand. With a state-of-the-art gravity fed winery and nearly four hundred hectares of vines planted in less than 8 years, this wine brand is slowly but surely starting to emerge on the international wine front. The task ahead is as difficult as the first ten years, but there are a lot of positives and negatives in the development of this premium wine brand that can be used by other business leaders in their decision-making when they start out on the journey to develop a brand. This report documents the first ten years of the Lourensford wine brand and it serves both as a recording of the history as well as a teaching tool for students in wine marketing as it includes interviews with people and role players that were involved and today are still involved in actively building this wine brand. The development of the Lourensford wine brand was started while the vineyards were still very young, and as such the quality of the wines were not ultra-premium from the outset. It was difficult to market these first vintages to get the cash flow right, while at the same time trying to convince the market that this Estate will eventually be producing ultra-premium wines. The focus in the beginning was production oriented, but it had to change to a more market-oriented business. By learning from the mistakes and evaluating the recommendations of this example, the reader can avoid the pitfalls of building a new brand and apply the lessons learned in his or her own business. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die Suid-Afrikaanse wynbedryf het groot vooruitgang op die globale wynmark gemaak sedert daar in 1994 afstand gedoen is van die KWV se eenkanaalbemarkingstelsel en die Suid-Afrikaanse produsente weer toegelaat is om hul wyne op die tradisionele en ontluikende wêreldmarkte in Europa, Oos-Europa en Amerika te verkoop. Dit het nie die Suid-Afrikaanse produsente en bemarkers baie lank geneem om hul fokus te verskuif van die plaaslike na die internasionale wynmarkte waar die potensiaal om handel te dryf in internasionale geldeenhede, die belofte van groot winste ingehou het nie. Met die oopstel van hierdie markte het die voorkeure en smake van die wynkopers ook die wyse waarop die Suid-Afrikaanse produsente wyne gemaak en hul wynbesighede bedryf het, beinvloed. Alhoewel wynmaak in Suid-Afrika meer as driehonderd jaar lank reeds bedryf word, het die hertoetrede tot die internasionale wynmarkte ook baie groot uitdagings aan wynprodusente gestel,want hulle was nie voorheen blootgestel aan die markkragte wat die manier van handel dryf op internasionale markte beheer het nie. Die ontluiking van nuwe potensiaal vir wynprodusente op internasionale markte het ook die aandag getrek van suksesvolle sakeleiers om te begin wyn maak omdat hulle reeds 'n passie vir wyn gekoester het. Dr. Christo Wiese het in die vroeë negentigerjare die Lanzerac-wynlandgoed gekoop, en 'n paar jaar later een van die historiese plase in die Wes-Kaap, naamlik Lourensford. Hy het dit hom ten doel gestel om hierdie vrugteplaas tot 'n top wynlandgoed in familiebesit,te ontwikkel. Met 'n ultra-moderne, gravitasiegedrewe wynkelder en nagenoeg vierhonderd hektaar wingerd aangeplant in minder as agt jaar, is Lourensford stadig maar seker besig om naam te maak op die internasionale wynfront. Die taak wat nog voorlê is net so uitdagend as die afgelope tien jaar, maar daar is reeds heelwat positiewe en negatiewe lesse wat uit die ontwikkeling van hierdie premiewynhandelsmerk geleer kan word en wat ander sakeleiers in hul besluitnemeningsprosesse kan gebnuik op pad na die ontwikkeling van 'n handelsmerk. Hierdie werkstuk dokumenteer die eerste tien jaar van die Lourensford-wynhandelsmerk en dien as die optekening van die geskiedenis sowel as die verskaffing van 'n opvoedkundige hulpmiddel vir studente in wynbemarking omdat dit onderhoude bevat met rolspelers en mense wat aktief betrokke was, en vandag steeds betrokke is, by die uitbouing van die handelsmerk. Die ontwikkeling van die Lourensford-wynhandelsmerk het begin toe die wingerde baie jonk was, en as sulks was die gehalte van die wyn nie van die staanspoor af van hoogstaande gehalte nie. Dit was moeilik om die eerste oesjare se wyne te bemark om die kontantvloei reg te kry, terwyl daar terselfdertyd gepoog is om die mark te oortuig dat die landgoed uiteindelik ultrapremiewyne gaan produseer. Die fokus aan die begin was produksiegedrewe, maar moes mettertyd na 'n meer markgedrewe besigheid verander. Deur te leer uit die foute wat gemaak is, en die aanbevelings te evalueer, kan die leser die slaggate vermy wanneer kritieke besluite rakende die vestiging van 'n handelsmerk in sy of haar eie besigheid geneem moet word.

Thesis (MSc(Agric)) -- Stellenbosch University, 1966. / INLEIDING: Die ontstaan van kooperasiewese kan teruggevoer word na die jaar 1844 toe 28 wewers van Rochdale in Engeland 'n suksesvolle koöperatiewe verbruikswinkel geloods het. Die sogenaamde Rochdale-pioniers word veral onthou vanweë die feit dat hulle die beginsels van koöperasiewese duidelik geformuleer het. In Suid-Afrika speel landboukoöperasie vandag 'n belangrike rol in die bemarking van landbouprodukte, die verskaffing van boerderybenodighede en die lewering van dienste aan boere. Koöperasies is, veral in die beginjare, meesal gestig met die doel om gebreke in die bemarking en verwerking van landbouprodukte te oorbrug. In Suid-Afrika het koöperasiewese ontwikkel sedert die twintigste eeu toe 'n Ier, Mnr. P.J. Hannon na die land gebring is om te dien as superintendent van landboukoöperasies. Vandaar het dit ontwikkel tot feitlik al die sektore van die landboubedryf in Suid-Afrika.

The South African wine industry is a significant contributor to the South African economy. However the wine producers are facing financial and operational challenges as they operate and compete in a highly traded local and international wine market. These financial and operational challenges manifest as risks in their supply chain and could affect the future sustainability of their business. It against this backdrop that this study aimed to identify the supply chain risks experienced by the Stellenbosch wine producers, and how they manage and overcome these risks. The research was conducted at five wine producers located in each of five Stellenbosch wine producing areas. The producers were selected through a non-probability purposive sample with the assistance of a gatekeeper. The study is descriptive and exploratory with qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews with ten participants from the five wine producers. The data was analysed using thematic analysis. The study found that the main risk factors centered around: the planning activities concerning the risks involved in matching demand and supply; agricultural activities including the drought and other external hazard risks; the wine making activities including in-process controls; financial risks including margin erosion due to inflationary costs not being matched by selling price increases; and human resource risks. This study recommends that wine producers use a formal risk appraisal process, implement a supplier development process, could make use of precision viticulture methods and improved pest control measures. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)

South Africa’s history of the disempowerment of black people (Africans, Coloureds, Indians, and Chinese), presented the post apartheid government after 1994 with problems of policy formulation around empowerment of the previously disadvantaged groups (PDGs). In the wine industry, one possible way of addressing inequality in the access to economic resources and racially skewed land redistribution is through empowerment labelling of wine. Empowerment labelling of wine may promote competitiveness of wine businesses owned by the PDGs. This will help to address inequality problems in the sector. Skinner (2007) demonstrated that empowerment labelling can benefit South African wine firms in international wine markets because empowerment and Fairtrade labelled wines benefit from import preference in most European Union (EU) countries. This study investigates one possible way in which empowerment labelling may benefit wine firms on the domestic markets for wine. Several wine brands with empowerment attributes are currently traded in domestic wine retail markets in South Africa. Very few of these wine brands are broad-based black economic empowerment (BBEE) brands. If South African wine consumers value black economic empowerment in the wine industry, empowerment attribute labelling may be used to identify empowerment products, and thereby promote the competitiveness of Black Economic Empowered wine businesses. This study sets out to quantify South African wine consumers’ willingness to pay (if any) for empowerment labelled wines. Data for the study were collected in 2007 and 2008. Two methods were used for this purpose using two case studies in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. The first method used a revealed preference technique to determine whether a price premium exists on the current wine prices or not. Using the hedonic price analysis technique, linear and log-linear hedonic price functions for wine for two wine retail outlets in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands were used to estimate the price premium paid for empowerment attributes in this domestic wine retail market. Explanatory variables which were found to influence wine prices were Platter’s Wine Guide quality rating, Reputation of the winery, and BBEE. Tests on the statistical fit of the models using the Park Test and residual scatter plots indicated that the log-linear model had better data fit. These two models could not be compared using the more traditional R squared and F-statistics as they had different dependent variables. The second method used a stated preference technique to estimate wine consumers’ willingness to pay for empowerment attributes of wine in the Kwazulu-Natal Midlands. Personal interview surveys of consumers at a wine cellar were conducted. The monetary value of these consumers’ willingness to pay was quantified using conjoint analysis and the conditional logistic model. Although the revealed preference techniques for consumer willingness to pay for empowerment labels showed that a negative price premium exists for these wine attributes, the stated preference technique revealed a positive willingness to pay for empowerment attributes. The monetary values could not provide the actual willingness to pay as they tended to be close to the hypothetical price of wine used in the questionnaire. This might be attributable to the prices used in the questionnaire not capturing the average actual wine prices for this specific wine retail outlet. Therefore, the monetary values were used as indicators of the ordering of attribute importance by the consumers. The results also indicated that an information gap between consumers and producers may exist. This implies that, provided that consumers are made aware of these attributes, there may be potential for wine producers to earn a price premium on empowerment attributes. Further research is required to determine whether South African wine consumers (a) value empowerment attributes (using stated preference techniques), and (b) are aware of wine brands that have empowerment attributes. The results of this study would aid government in formulating policies that promote the competitiveness of empowerment attributes such as giving machinery or inputs procurement rebates to wineries that are broad-based empowerment compliant, and in so doing, improve the economic position of previously disadvantaged groups. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.

Commercial reality demands that the South African wine industry convert from its current production orientation to a marketing orientation, by drawing on all new and existing marketing channels in order to ensure its continued success. International research has shown that wine tourism can add value to and benefit a winery as a direct marketing channel. This study investigated the role that wine tourism currently plays within the marketing strategies of wineries in the Stellenbosch Wine Route of South Africa. Findings of the exploratory research indicated that many wineries do not comprehend the positive influence of wine tourism and view it as a secondary marketing activity. It is concluded that South African wine marketers could profit from utilising wine tourism as an integral part of their marketing strategy in order to maintain and increase their share of the alcoholic beverage market. / Business Management / M. Comm. (Business Management)

Commercial reality demands that the South African wine industry convert from its current production orientation to a marketing orientation, by drawing on all new and existing marketing channels in order to ensure its continued success. International research has shown that wine tourism can add value to and benefit a winery as a direct marketing channel. This study investigated the role that wine tourism currently plays within the marketing strategies of wineries in the Stellenbosch Wine Route of South Africa. Findings of the exploratory research indicated that many wineries do not comprehend the positive influence of wine tourism and view it as a secondary marketing activity. It is concluded that South African wine marketers could profit from utilising wine tourism as an integral part of their marketing strategy in order to maintain and increase their share of the alcoholic beverage market. / Business Management / M. Comm. (Business Management)