South African wine industry deliberates on its future in the current global context

Wine industry leaders and stakeholders convened in Stellenbosch, in the Western Cape, this week to assess the future of South African wine, with speakers taking stock of the economic headwinds, climate realities and global trends that affect the production and consumption of South African wine daily. Nedbank chief economist Nicky Weimar surveyed the positive trends in South Africa’s energy, rail and port infrastructure sectors, noting that structural and policy reforms had lowered the country’s risk premium, while sound fiscal discipline had led to a welcome sovereign risk rating upgrade.