Foreign ownership on South African Wine Estates

Neil Pendock runs a conspiracy theory flag up the Neethlingshof flagpole and waits to see if anyone salutes.
At lunch with Cope parliamentary leader Mbhazima Shilowa last month, I asked him for his take on the application of a government exploration company to prospect in the vineyards of the Stellenboschkloof, Bottelary Hills and Tygerberg. “They’re up to nonsense,” was his reply. While the region is undoubtedly prospective, supplying terroir for a tin mine (which provided employment for Herman Charles Bosman’s dad) a century ago, perhaps the real reason for the prospecting application is to divert attention from the real target located on neighbouring hills – Asara, Morgenhof, Dornier, Saxenburg, Bein and the many other foreign owned wine farms in the Western Cape.

Land ownership has been an emotive issue in South Africa since Jan van Riebeeck relocated the strandlopers and the ANC’s nose is thrust in the elegant Riedel sommelier series glass held by a foreign hand on a daily basis. Last week The Times reported government intended to “put the restriction of foreign land ownership in South Africa back on the table”. A development far more serious than granting a few exploration permits which monopolizes the attention of local wine commentators at the minute.

Speaking in parliament last week, minister of Land Affairs, Gugile Nkwinti, called foreigners buying land “a recipe for chaos…”. Foreigners are buying land three times more than the government in the country; that is partly why we have to look at the system in South Africa… It’s inevitable because at some point we will end up not having land as a country. So we will look at the quantities and at some point we will make this information available.”

read full article on wine.co.za