Gains achieved in upper price range RAY SMUTS SOUTH AFRICAN women were in the limelight in London this month when Su Birch, CEO of Wines of South Africa (WOSA), was named the Champagne Lanson Woman in Wine for 2005, while Cathy van Zyl became one of only six people to earn her Masters in Wine from the Institute of Masters of Wine in the UK this year. The occasion was the International Wine and Spirit Competition where Birch was honoured for WOSA’s efforts in building South Africa into one of the leading wine producing countries in the UK, holding a 10% share in this fiercely contested market. South Africa took home four trophies at the show. “It is gratifying to note the strong growth of South African wine in the five pound plus category. Sales have climbed from 262 000 cases in 2003 to 444 000 in 2005. The highest increase has been at the six to seven pound level where sales are up 25% and at the seven to eight pound level where sales are up by 16%,” she said.
