First it was Scandinavia. Now the English-speaking world could follow.
A Danish-made documentary‚ called Bitter Grapes — Slavery in the Vineyards‚ was aired in Denmark and Sweden last week‚ much to the horror of wholesalers and consumers of South African wine in those countries‚ reported the Sunday Times
As a result‚ one of Denmark’s biggest supermarket chains has taken some of its South African brands off the shelves‚ and others could follow.
This could be a growing blow to the wine industry as South African wines are popular in that region. In Sweden‚ South African wine is the second most popular‚ and in Denmark imports have grown by 78% in just a decade.
The Scandinavian region consumes 50 million litres of South African wine a year.
An English version of the film is going to be available for broadcast across the globe from Tuesday‚ and documentary-maker Tom Heinemann (www.bittergrapes.net) is already in negotiation to sell it to different broadcasters.
According to Heinemann‚ this was the exact motivation for the work he undertook‚ to get “all stakeholders to debate” and to get “honest improvements“.
The trade union movement has come out strongly in support of the film‚ saying it portrays the reality that is often hidden behind the beauty of the wine farms themselves.
“The situation from 1994 has got worse. After apartheid it’s worse. They don’t want you to see the lies but you will see people that look like slaves‚” says Secretary General of the farm workers union CSAAWU‚ Trevor Christians.
Bitter Grapes UK trailer FINAL from Tom Heinemann on Vimeo.
WATCH: Doccie trailer exposes conditions on some SA wine farms
First it was Scandinavia. Now the English-speaking world could follow.
A Danish-made documentary‚ called Bitter Grapes — Slavery in the Vineyards‚ was aired in Denmark and Sweden last week‚ much to the horror of wholesalers and consumers of South African wine in those countries‚ reported the Sunday Times
As a result‚ one of Denmark’s biggest supermarket chains has taken some of its South African brands off the shelves‚ and others could follow.
This could be a growing blow to the wine industry as South African wines are popular in that region. In Sweden‚ South African wine is the second most popular‚ and in Denmark imports have grown by 78% in just a decade.
The Scandinavian region consumes 50 million litres of South African wine a year.
An English version of the film is going to be available for broadcast across the globe from Tuesday‚ and documentary-maker Tom Heinemann (www.bittergrapes.net) is already in negotiation to sell it to different broadcasters.
According to Heinemann‚ this was the exact motivation for the work he undertook‚ to get “all stakeholders to debate” and to get “honest improvements“.
The trade union movement has come out strongly in support of the film‚ saying it portrays the reality that is often hidden behind the beauty of the wine farms themselves.
“The situation from 1994 has got worse. After apartheid it’s worse. They don’t want you to see the lies but you will see people that look like slaves‚” says Secretary General of the farm workers union CSAAWU‚ Trevor Christians.
Bitter Grapes UK trailer FINAL from Tom Heinemann on Vimeo.
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