THROUGH THE Grapevine

Origin Wine is a service company, providing bottling and packaging services for glass and bag/box wine. They also offer procurement and management of dry goods and have been providing logistical services to the wine making

industry since 2002, growing to accommodate more than 40 million litres of wine per annum.

Their holistic approach guarantees excellent service and

they are recognised as the highest professionals in their field providing a ‘one-stop’ service which manages the supply chain from wine making to supply.

“We offer treatment and blending to wine analysis and

Origin Wine

Wine has always been popular; as a worldwide drink of choice it is the beverage that denotes a higher level of class than other alcoholic beverages and, with South Africa benefitting from some of the best grape crops in the world, it’s not surprising that the best companies in the worldwide industry can be found there.

label design,” Neville says, “With appreciation for the specifics of the client’s market so that the product received is ready to go onto the shelf.”

Origin Wine maintains the highest level of quality and standards, which have been internationally recognised, year after year, through both International Food Standards (IFS) and British Retail Consortium (BRC). Origin Wines also boasts IPW and DLG approval as well as a Fairtrade accreditation and applies all the principles and procedures set out by the HACCP.

“Some people use different combinations of the services offered,” Neville explains, “and this covers just the services

we provide for third parties on a contracting basis. Our services are not restricted to the packaging industry though.”

Covering all corners of their industry they also sell wines, with an export focus for the bottle categories and a flair for diversification and product rejuvenation. An example of this would be their Moscato Range, which they are currently heavily promoting.

“Moscato is a sweet wine,” Neville tells us, “It’s a good wine to get started on if you’re not a wine drinker and is very popular with the younger audiences. It isn’t as matured as some of our other wines and so retains its youth and vibrancy.”

Origin Wine

Product development is essential for any company and a tailored approach is a sure-fire way to ensure uniqueness and high quality. One of the services that Origin Wines offers is a bespoke development of a label specific to any target market. With their peerless understanding of the industry they take their customers through the entire process – in particular, wine sourcing and packaging.

“We work closely with the client to ensure that the market specified is guaranteed to be enthralled by the quality of the wine selection,” Neville says, “and intuitively fit between market and product. Origin Wine has access to large volumes of product, as well as a vast array of cultivars and styles available. With price and style needs specified, we are able to source the wine required, blend it to taste and provide the quantities as ordered.”

With their focus on satisfying the needs of the export market, Origin Wine is continually improving their systems and procedures to satisfy the needs of their customers. Forging long-standing relationships is their primary aim.

“This actually starts internally first,” Neville reveals, “and we focus intensively on employee development.”

The employees at Origin Wines are incredibly important, the company has not gone the route of fully automating

Origin Wine

“We are at the forefront of our industry and the top producer and exporter of Fairtrade wines in South Africa. This is something we’ve worked long and hard for.”

Origin Wine

everything and relies more on manual labour. This provides opportunities for on the job training and career development as staff can climb the ranks. Additionally onsite they’ve established a training centre with a host of in house computers for those staff needing it to gain numeracy and literacy skills that will further develop their capabilities on the job and out. They’ve brought in a training consultant to help streamline and head this up.

“The benefit of inhouse employee development is that it allows us to improve not only the quality of life for our employees on an individual basis. But also gives us a good grounding to give additional training for career development,” Neville says.

Standards in South Africa are essential and to ensure that they are offering the best they possibly can, Origin Wine work closely with Fairtrade, a worldwide organisation helping marginalised producers in developing countries, to move towards economic self-sufficiency and stability on a sustainable basis.

“We are at the forefront of our industry and the top producer and exporter of Fairtrade wines in South Africa,” Neville proudly admits, “This is something we’ve worked long and hard for.”

In 2005 Origin Wines in conjunction with the farming communities of Du Toitskloof and the Du Toitskloof winery, formed the Fairhills project, which ensured that the 22 farms contributing to the winery were Fairtrade accredited, making it one of the largest Fairtrade projects globally.

Origin Wine has an on-site blending facility of 2.4m lt and combined with their cold stabilisation, EDI plant and bulk filter capabilities they are ahead of most of their competition. Bottling is an incredibly delicate process and the question is always one of capability. To answer this, Origin Wine developed a world class bottling facility. Whether it’s bottling, labelling or the more technical balance of ensuring oxygen and carbon dioxide levels are managed, Origin Wine operates to strict procedures to meet their clients’ specific requirements.

A total glass filling capacity of 90 000 litres per day, a Bag-in-Box line with a 55 000 litre capacity per day which covers most sizes from 18.75cl to 5 litres, screw caps, cork, synthetic and wax seals offer a variety of closures while labelling options include wet glue or self-adhesive.

Origin Wine has a fully equipped laboratory able to conduct wine chemical analysis; metals and microanalysis can be performed manually or by making use of the latest laboratory technologies. The newest addition is a WineScan which enables them to produce a footprint of each wine from source to final product.

“As an example of our position in the industry, there has been a swing from bulk wines to bottle, in the year ending in July 2010, 239 million litres had been moved in South Africa, in July 2012 that number had dropped to 169 million litres,” Neville explains, “But while there has been an industry dip we’ve grown by 10% which is evidence of our commitment to support our local market.”

Contacts: JHB: +27 11 876 6026 | CT: +27 21 505 1361 DBN: +27 31 717 6136 | PE: +27 41 486 1035 |

Swaziland Area: +268 13 790 0007

www.nampak.com

Nampak Corrugated has evolved to offer you ‘fit for purpose’ solutions through revolutionary design, production and print technology, continental reach and personal service. All of which is made possible through our innovative operational structure and strategic investments programme, including exclusive packaging software and machinery in the domestic market. This has established us as Africa’s leading manufacturer of cartons and trays, with an array of awards for our highly individualised and diverse solutions, evolved to create the most attractive and protective corrogated packaging.

A proud supplier to Origin Wine.

Origin Winewww.originwine.co.za+27 21 865 8100

Written by Lance Van Der Westhuizen

www.littlegatepublishing.com