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Fairtrade Wines
With the conclusion of Fair Trade fortnight and also the recent publicity locally about the desire to promote Fair Trade the wines that have this distinguishing mark have suddenly come to the fore.
Interestingly unlike the label Organic there doesn’t seem to be quite the same degree of suspicion that this is just another marketing tool to increase the price.
However there is a great deal of misunderstanding about just what it actually means and how effective it really is.
For those who want to find the definitive information a visit to the Fairtrade Foundation website is a good start and this can be found on www.fairtrade.org.uk
But in a nutshell its about providing consumers with a product that gives the producer and their employees a decent price to enable them to have decent working conditions, a sustainable business and fair terms of trade.
Does it work? Well in my view yes up to a point.
From a lowly 20% of the population being aware of the fair-trade mark in 2002 to a much more acceptable 57% in 2007 we can see that there is still a long way to go in educating the great British public in what it actually means.
As well as this there is also a degree of retailer education required as well. There is nothing worse than the uninformed selling to the uninitiated! Hopefully this is changing at a quicker pace than with the consumers!
But that said there has been a real growth in the availability of Fair Trade wines in the past few years.
From the one or two that were widely available at the Co-op, one of the first partners in these ventures there are now many more to choose from.
Stellar Wineries is for me the trend setter. An organic winery based in South Africa they produce a good comprehensive range of Fair Trade Wines.
Their fascinating dessert wine called Heaven on Earth made from combining ripe Muscat d’Alexandrie grapes on a bed of organic Rooibos tea. The tea is only grown in the Cederberg region of South Africa and is a great provider of antioxidants.
Another good reason to drink wine I’ve found!
Los Robles Carmenere is another rich finding from Chile. A full deep red in colour its full of mature red fruit flavours with wood and spice overtones that linger on the palate.
The Thandi vineyard also in South Africa is one of the first Black Economic Empowerment projects set up. Resulting in 2/3rds of the business being owned by the workers.
‘Thandi’ means nuture, love and care in Xhosa and this is definitely the ethos in making the wines.
The Thandi Cabernet Sauvignon is fantastic and hopefully coming to a store near you soon—if I can sweet talk the UK agent!
Red or White. Evolution House, 46 Castle Street, Trowbridge, Wiltshire.BA14
8AY.
Open to residents of the UK only (excluding Channel Islands).
You must be aged 18 or over to order. © Red or White 2007 - All rights reserved.
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