Responsible drinking

Drinks columnist

Saturday 30 June 2012

Bottles of fairly traded Chilean carmenere first appeared 10 years ago in the Co-op, followed in 2004 by the first actual Fairtrade wine – a South African pinot noir.

Custom byline text:

Tom Bruce-Gardyne

Since then, more bottles have spread slowly across the shelves, particularly in the Co-op, which sells nearly two-thirds of Fairtrade wines in the UK.

"Fairtrade is part is part of our DNA and always should be – otherwise why are we the Co-operative?" says the chain's head wine buyer – Paul Bastard. And yes, he really is called that, though by common consent it's an undeserved name, unlike some of his rival supermarket negotiators who will happily rip their suppliers limb from limb before breakfast. He seemed a nice guy when I met him at the Co-op's annual press tasting last month.

He says Fairtrade sales are holding up despite the recession, especially among younger drinkers. "I think at times in their lives people want to do what they think is doing good," he says. "I have never liked political messages on wine bottles, or any message – whether it's the Olympic Games, the eclipse or the World Cup." Somehow the blue and lime green logo is not too in-your-face and, unlike similar logos for organic wines, it seems to have caught on.With no great fanfare, the Co-op has contributed almost £1.8 million to various projects in South Africa, Argentina and Chile, the three countries it works with. This is on top of the Fairtrade premium of around 4p on each bottle. "We absolutely don't want consumers to believe it is a donation," says Eliza Ward of the Fairtrade Foundation. "It is part of the fair price they have paid."From what I gather, the sum is usually absorbed by the producer. Maybe we get a few pence less quality in the bottle – it is hard to say. Personally I think they have improved, but I am still waiting to be bowled over by a Fairtrade wine.Michael Cox, who runs the PR office for Chilean wine in the UK, has mixed views. "Part of my job is to promote Chile as a wine country," he says. "The image of Fairtrade suggests downtrodden workers, which is not so good for our image. It almost suggests we have a problem." He says the country has a solid welfare system and a minimum wage, which begs the question whether it really needs Fairtrade.A few years ago, Yohanne Bardeau, a young farmer's union activist in France, claimed Bordeaux should be Fairtrade. It will never happen, but he does have a point. In the less fashionable parts of the region, as throughout southern Europe, it can be hard to scratch a living growing grapes, and I have heard often that UK buyers can be utterly ruthless.Sanjay Chib, a Fairtrade producer in the Cape in South Africa, says, "There are many farms I see that are slowly going bankrupt and it's nothing to do with the exploitation of farm workers. It is the market squeezing the price." Some of the supermarkets need to ask themselves how they can appease shareholders with their "kill the competition" pricing while simultaneously promoting themselves as ethically responsible retailers. Plonking a few Fairtrade wines on the shelf looks like window-dressing. ntombg22@googlemail.com

Commenting & Moderation

We moderate all comments on HeraldScotland on either a pre-moderated or post-moderated basis. If you're a relatively new user then your comments will be reviewed before publication and if we know you well then your comments will be subject to moderation only if other users or the moderators believe you've broken the rules, which are available here.

Moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. Please be patient if your posts are not approved instantly.

Responsible drinking

Commenting & Moderation

MOST READ

SPONSORED LINKS

MOST COMMENTED