Anybody who knows about the SA wine industry knows Mike Ratcliffe. The son of Norma Ratcliffe – a pioneer of winemaking women in South Africa and founder of Warwick Wine Estate – Michael launched his own brand, Vilafonte, over twenty years ago. Fine wine critic Carrie Adams sits down with Ratcliffe, to discuss establishing a brand in a short period of time, ‘in a world where there are millions of labels and just a handful of brands’. – Jarryd Neves
Mike Ratcliffe on the upcoming harvest:
It’s a big, industry wide issue – especially in the bulk wine industry. You might actually be interested to know not just that there’s a problem, but where the problem started. The way the industry works is that grapes are harvested in January, February and March. Our biggest export markets are in the Northern hemisphere – Europe in general and the UK.
THE IMPACTS OF COVID-19
What is the current status of the Covid-19 pandemic and its effects upon the world of wine from the vineyard to the consumer? Which methods are being applied to minimize viral exposure and transmission at the workplace and with customers? What are repercussions for olfactory analysis, everyday tasting and enjoyment, and what are practical methods of addressing these problems? What is the status of vaccination processes with a look to its impact on an approximate return to a certain normality?
Presented by:
Speakers:
Elvis García (ES) - Doctor of Public Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health