Thesis (DPhil (Sociology and Social Anthropology))--Stellenbosch University, 2007. / There is a general consensus amongst industry experts that in order for the South African wine
industry to sustain the success it has enjoyed thus far in export markets like the United Kingdom,
the Netherlands and Sweden and to become even more internationally competitive, its has to
improve the quality of its wine and move into higher price categories of the wine market. Skills’
training has been highlighted as a significant component of a strategy to improve the quality of
South African wine and its competitiveness in world markets. The aim of this study was to find
out how the South African wine industry is adapting to new vineyard practices necessary for
quality production at farm level, especially as far as training of vineyard workers is concerned.
Four theoretical perspectives are discussed in relation to the restructuring of the world agro-food
industry, the question of quality and the issue of training as it relates the production of quality
wine. These theoretical perspectives are regulation theory, global commodity chain analysis,
actor-network theory and the ergonomics perspective on the skills needed for the production of
quality wine. The focus of the study was on different kinds of producers, i.e. co-operative
cellars, private cellars and estates. The research covered two of the main wine-producing areas,
namely Paarl and the Robertson area. At each farm, interviews were conducted with the farm
owner, farm manager or viticulturist as well as a number of workers. Interviews were also
conducted with prominent wine makers, skills trainers and facilitators and other industry experts.
This was done to gain a better understanding of the South African wine industry as well as the
major issues and debates as far as quality production and skills training are concerned. The study
found that although there has been a general upgrading of skills in relation to new vineyard
practices for quality production, workers at the co-operatives and estates studied do not yet
receive the kind of in-depth knowledge which the theory argues is necessary for the production
of quality wine. The private cellars invest much more time and resources in the training of their
workforce. As far as the private cellars and estates are concerned there is a correlation between
the quality of wine and training. The private cellars sell more than 50% of their wine in the
premium, super-premium, ultra-premium and icon categories of the international wine market.
The estates sell 70% and more of their wine in the basic category. The co-operatives on the other
hand do not confirm the theory. In the absence of formal training, they manage to produce wine
that competes well on an inter and intra-regional level. The evidence suggests that in a country
like South Africa, in the context of a legacy of low education and literacy levels amongst
workers, repeated demonstration and strict supervision can compensate to a certain degree for a
lack of in-depth knowledge and discretion amongst workers.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/1183 |
| Date | 03 1900 |
| Creators | Brown-Luthango, Mercy |
| Contributors | Ewert, Joachim, Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Sociology and Social Anthropology. |
| Publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | Stellenbosch University |
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