Grape-picker with dead chameleons, lizards and insects

The intention of The South African Wine Initiative is to create awareness about the truths behind the South African Wine Industry. We aim to inform the public of this information and place you the consumer in the position where you can make an informed choice and insist on drinking hand picked wine. The problem of mechanical harvesters is not confined to the South African Wine Industry and exists as current global issue. We as consumers have the power to change this horrible reality. We have provided this information in the interest of the public, with the hope that positive change is possible.

Since the late nineties mechanical harvesters have been introduced to replace the traditional method of hand picking grapes. In South Africa these machines were initially imported as a strike-breaking tool and since their implementation hundreds of thousands of previously disadvantaged workers have lost their employment and housing. The South African Wine Industry is responsible for the dreadful consequences of the ‘dop system’. The industry does not presently carry responsibility towards addressing the problems created by this system. These problems include the Grape-pickers of the Western Cape having the highest rate of Foetal Alcohol Syndrome in the world.

This social devastation is not the only consequence of using these machines though, as through the process of harvesting a wide variety of animals, insects and reptiles are killed, mashed up and their blood spilt into the wine.

One species that is frequently included in the South African wine harvest is the Cape Dwarf Chameleon. This Chameleon is a C.I.T.E.S protected species. South African law states that it is Illegal to produce a product with a part of a protected species. Thus those South African wines that use mechanical harvesting are not only unethical but illegal.

Please explore this site to understand the horror of this social and environmental problem as well as finding out how you can avoid drinking wine contaminated with blood.