Platter’s South African Wines 2011. Foreword, by Inge Kotze

Platter’s South African Wines 2011. Foreword by Inge Kotze. ISBN 9783941602564 / ISBN 978-3-941602-56-4

Inge Kotze, in the name of the Biodiversity & Wine Initiative, contributed the foreword to Platter’s South African Wines 2011.

Inge Kotze is Project Coordinator of the Biodiversity and Wine Initiative BWI, an organization of the WWF South Africa: Water and soil are the two basic resources required to secure a thriving and productive agricultural sector, and upon which our livelihoods, health and wellbeing are dependent. Protecting our catchments by managing our water and soil resources effectively also forms the basis to support the social imperatives within our industry - environmental sustainability provides the necessary foundation to ensure the durability of livelihoods and the health of our surrounding communities, and secure the long-term productivity and sustained growth of this industry, which makes a significant contribution to the GDP and job creation. You as the reader can make a difference by supporting our vibrant and dynamic producers, who are already well advanced in minimising their environmental impacts. Whether or not wines are produced to ensure minimal environmental impacts within the vineyard or cellar, derived from organically grown grapes or the product of biodynamic farming practices, they are not truly sustainable unless the producers are managing their underpinning natural systems - our rivers, wetlands and natural corridors; and preserving remaining fragments of natural area as stepping stones to reconnect our winelands. The International Year of Biodiversity, 2010 also marked the year in which the South African wine industry launched a world first - a 'sustainability seal', ensuring that retailers and consumers alike can now be assured of quality wine produced in an environmentally sensitive manner. Be sure to look for this seal on the neck of your bottle. In addition to this minimum industry-wide standard, many producers are dedicating significant time and effort to protecting a region of outstanding conservation value - the Cape Floral Kingdom, the smallest, yet most diverse plant kingdom on earth. Members of the Biodiversity & Wine Initiative play an important role in the long-term conservation of this region, and are the forerunners in the maintenance of living catchments with productive vineyards and healthy freshwater systems. So, as a wine lover, you too can support the conservation of our Cape winelands. Look out for the label depicting a sugarbird perched on a protea on wine bottles, or download a list of BWI producers from www.bwi.co.za. Agriculture has done more to reshape the natural world than anything else we do, both its landscapes and the composition of its flora and fauna. Our eating (and drinking) constitutes a relationship with dozens of other species - plants, animals and fungi - with which we have co-evolved to the point where our fates are deeply intertwined.' - Michael Pollan. The Omnivore's Dilemma Last year saw global news portraying scenes of devastating natural disasters with increasing frequency, many with a direct physical and economic impact on wine regions of the world: Chile was severely affected by an earthquake, there were floods in Brazil and Argentina, Australia faced a continued drought, and raging bushfires affected many other winegrowing areas in Australia, California and South Africa. (...)

This is the foreword to the wine guide Platter’s South African Wines 2011, by Inge Kotze.

Book title: Platter’s South African Wines 2011
Editor: Philip van Zyl
Publisher: John Platter SA Wineguide (Pty) Ltd
Hermanus, South Africa 2011
ISBN 9780958450690 (South Africa)
ISBN 9783941602564 / ISBN 978-3-941602-56-4 (Deutschland)
Hardcover, 11x20 cm, 607 pages, several map inserts, colour photos and tables, English