Fair Trade Quick Fact Sheet

What Is Fair Trade?

• Designed to help producers in developing countries achieve better trading conditions.
• Focuses in particular on commodities, or products which are typically exported from developing countries to developed countries
• Most common commodities include handicrafts, coffee, cocoa, wine, sugar, fresh fruit, chocolate, flowers and gold.
• Seeks to promote greater equity in international trading partnerships
• Promotes sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of, marginalized producers and workers in developing countries.
• Grounded in three core beliefs: first: producers have the power to express unity with consumers. Secondly: the world trade practices that currently exist promote the unequal distribution of wealth between nations. Lastly: buying products from producers in developing countries at a fair price is a more efficient way of promoting sustainable development than traditional charity and aid.
• When you purchase Fair Trade products, you help people attain a better quality of life

What is World Fair Trade Day?

• World Fair Trade Day falls every second Saturday in May.
• It is an inclusive worldwide festival of events celebrating Fair Trade as a tangible contribution to sustainable development, especially the economic empowerment of small producers, gender equality in workplaces and responsible production practices.

   

Fairview Goats Do Roam White Blend and Stellar Organics Cabernet Sauvignon/Pinotage

• South Africa is the largest producer of Fairtrade wine globally, with 26 producer organisations, and accounts for around two- thirds of Fairtrade wine sales.
• The apartheid system in South Africa limited the opportunities for economic advancement of the majority of the population and left a legacy of poor employment conditions and labour relations in the wine industry.
• Fairview and Stellar Organics are two of a number of others who practise Fair Trade to reverse these adverse social conditions
• Fairtrade Standards include the payment of the Fairtrade Minimum Price that aims to cover small wine grape farmers’ average costs of production. Fairtrade certified plantations must provide decent working conditions for workers and protect their rights in line with core International Labour Organization Conventions, including the right to join a trade union and collectively negotiate their working conditions, a safe and healthy environment and no discrimination or child labour.

And now a bit about the wines themselves!!

Fairview Goats Do Roam White Blend, W.O. Western Cape, South Africa 15.99

Goats Do Roam is a playful word-take on the legendary Cotes Du Rhone in France: the story goes that some errant members of Fairview’s long-established goat herd once escaped from their paddock into the Fairview vineyards after Charles Back’s young son Jason accidentally left the gate open. The little group happily roamed among the vineyards, showing rare discernment by selecting some of the ripest berries from the vines. Inspired by this tale, the winemaking team now uses these berries in the making of Goats Do Roam wine. The Goats Do Roam range is a mix of southern French and Italian style blends, rich in complexity and at value-for-money prices. The style is modern, fruit-rich, with intelligent use of wood for either fermentation and/or maturation in small French and American oak barrels. The wine is a typical French Rhone Valley blend: Viognier 49% Roussanne 28% Grenache Blanc 23%.  Winemaker’s Notes: Vibrant light green colour in the glass. Complex aromas of lemon, peach and floral notes. Palate is medium bodied with stone fruits and citrus flavours, with fresh lingering acidity.

Vegan Friendly

Stellar Organics Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Pinotage Blend, South Africa 18.99

Stellar Winery is one of South Africa’s top producers and exporters of organic, fair trade wines. Situated just outside of the Namaqualand town of Vredendal, the cellar processes grapes from farms stretching from Bulshoek Dam in the south to the cool climate vineyards of Koekenaap, close to the mouth of the Olifants River on South Africa’s west coast. The cellar is the first organic producer in the country to achieve FLO Fairtrade certification and the first in Africa to produce commercially viable no-sulphur added wines. This is great news for anyone who suffers from sulphur allergies. The cellar has an organic policy; an increasingly important concern for producers and consumers alike. Tasting Notes (courtesy Daenna Van Mulligan The Wine Diva): This certified organic, Fair Trade and vegan red is a blend of South Africa’s  Pinotage variety and Cabernet Sauvignon. Earthy and meaty, this blend offers up aromas of spice, bacon fat, iodine, wild forest berries, cocoa and plummy undertones. The palate offers good substance with savoury salty flavours, wild fruits, licorice and cocoa. Textural tannins add chew, it has good substance and a juicy finish. A good every day dinner wine with roasted meats, game, hard cheeses, hearty bean casseroles.

 Vegan Friendly