Sometimes you need to shake the tree to see if apples or serpents fall out. I recently wrote an opinion piece about transformation (or lack of it) in the wine industry and managed to gather a splendid harvest of both. I wasn’t surprised. Transformation has passed from being a convenient buzzword to a shibboleth, a statement of intent rather than the intent itself. While as a concept (and more importantly, as an investment), it’s been with us since the early 1990s, it doesn’t always manifest as a tangible reality. It’s dangerous to question, but not safe to ignore.

I argued that, despite millions of rand invested over the years by producers through statutory levies and their own discretionary funds, a large chunk of the industry remains largely untransformed. The stats speak for themselves: while wholesale, distribution and retail (especially the last mentioned) begin to represent the SA demographic, only 2% of primary production is owned/controlled by blacks...

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