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Making sure all’s fair in the world of wine
Fairtrade wines match supermarket brands for price and often beat them on quality
IT would be a pity to let the Fairtrade Wine Committee’s first annual wine tasting go unnoticed. This took place at Vinopolis in Southwark. A similar, smaller, event in 2005 in a Willesden gastro-pub attracted just four exhibitors. This event, held towards the end of last year, saw 12 producers, eight importers and nearly 90 wines, without a Jacob’s Creek or Gallo Brother anywhere in sight.
London, in many ways, is an ideal city to promote fairtrade products. Its population is diverse with enough people from poorer regions of the world to appreciate the difference ethical business practices can make to people’s lives.
The first winery to declare itself entirely fairtrade, Thandi in South Africa, did so in 2003. What we have seen since is a remarkable rate of growth for just three years.
As a rule of thumb, Fairtrade wines match supermarket brands for price and often beat them for quality. If, like many of us, faced with scores of bottles in a supermarket, looking for the fairtrade option is a reliable benchmark.
Of the wines on offer at the wine tasting, one of the most impressive was Thandi’s 2004 Pinot Noir (14 per cent alcohol), Tesco, £7.99. With a light, almost pink colour, this has a procession of fruit-like sensations working their way deep into the palate. If you prefer a cheaper Pinot Noir, try the Los Robles 2006 vintage (13 per cent), £4.99 (email: wine@
ehrmanns.co.uk).
This is darker in colour than the Thandi and not quite as diverse in its fruit sensations, but still an enjoyable wine.
Whilst the Co-op deserve credit as the first high street name to feature fair-trade wines, the price of their success is now strong competition from retailers with more clout. This said, a good contribution is their 2005 Fairtrade Cape Cabernet Sauvignon (14 per cent), £4.99.
The benefits of fairtrade go far beyond giving producers a just price. In Stellenbosch, Cape Province, Origin (a joint venture of 22 growers) sells five different wines to Tesco, Somerfield, Waitrose and the Co-op.
Their activities include day care for 190 children, renovating a community centre, bursaries for college education, a glass-making project for women and action on domestic violence and alcohol abuse.
The Chilean Los Robles Co-op, already mentioned, supports maths and language teaching, health insurance, a school bus and loans for irrigation. Its origin lies in the disastrous 1939 earthquake which cost 10,000 lives. It has since survived the Pinochet dictatorship.
Fairtrade’s success, albeit limited in relation to the total wine market, brings its own problems and raises new questions. Should fairtrade imitate New World styles or differentiate its products in the same way as its marketing system? Is it time to encourage lower alcohol levels, an issue yet to be discussed among fairtrade producers?
To what extent does (and should) fairtrade embrace environmentally conscious production methods like organic?
With one foot in each camp of business and social goals, producer co-ops have a very difficult balance to keep. This adds to their inherent instability. However, wine growing is itself unstable and risky.
It may just turn out that co-operative working is well suited to this environment.
Whatever the arguments, buying fairtrade wine is now much less of a risk. It’s important to recognise that we’re not being asked to take a chance on an inferior product for charitable motives.
On the contrary, these wines match the quality and price of the supermarkets and other large outlets. |
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