Who We Are

Our Story

WCA STORY

The Wine Certification Authority was originally established in terms of section 19(1) of the Wine, Other Fermented Beverages and Spirits Act, Act No. 25 of 1957 and was then known as the Wine and Spirit Board.

In 1970 the foundation for a wine of origin system was provided for under Sections19, 22 and 23 of the Act which took effect pursuant to Government notice R.1059 dated 16 June 1972 and has since that time been administered by the Wine Certification Authority.

The reason for the introduction of the wine of origin system in 1973, under the 1957 Act, was that at that time untrue claims of the variety, vintage and origin of wines were being made on wine labels and international authorities required the certification of such claims for exports.

On the 29 June 1990, the act of 1957 was repealed and replaced with the Liquor Products Act, Act No. 60 of 1989. The Wine and Spirit Board was re-established in terms of section 2 of the Act of 1989.

After nearly 53 years the Wine and Spirit Board was renamed as the Wine Certification Authority, in accordance with the Liquor Product Amendment Act, Act No. 8 of 2021 which was put into operation on 01 August 2023.

The Authority’s primary functions are administering the Schemes for Wine of Origin, Estate Brandy, and IPW (Integrated Production of Wine). On occasion, the Authority also gives advice and recommendations to the Minister of Agriculture on matters relating to the schemes.

Organisational Chart

The Authority is appointed by the Minister of Agriculture and consists of a chairperson and 14 members. Of these, ten are persons with the relevant knowledge, skills or expertise in viticulture, oenology, distilling, regulatory environment of the liquor industry, liquor production, food safety or microbiology; three are officers of the Department of Agriculture nominated by the Director-General; the Agricultural Research Council nominates one person, and one person is designated by the Minister.

The Management Committee represents the Authority in all day-to-day functions and handles all aspects which do not fall under any of the other committees, or on which the other committees cannot reach consensus. Disputes by participants to schemes on decisions made by the other committees are also dealt with by the Management Committee. The Management Committee answers as far as possible for the Authority and only non-consensus aspects and cases of principle matter are referred to the Authority for a decision.

The Integrated Production of Wine (IPW) Committee is responsible for developing guidelines based on the latest scientific research to propose amendments to the Scheme for Integrated Production of Wine. The committee makes use of the latest information and technology available for all aspects of wine production, from the farm to the bottle to ensure that the wine industry produces quality fruit and wine in an environmentally friendly manner.

The Demarcation Committee uses scientific criteria to evaluate applications relating to the definition and amendment of the boundaries of origin areas (geographical units, regions, districts and wards etc.), the units for the production of estate wine and single vineyard wine and recommends whether these applications meet the relevant criteria.

The Label Committee is responsible for reviewing and approving labels in terms of the Liquor Products Act, Act No. 60 of 1989 and its subordinate legislation to ensure compliance. This ensures that claims regarding the origin, grape variety, vintage year, class designation and sustainability listed on wine labels are true and have been verified against the relevant certified wine.

The Financial Committee looks after the finances of the Authority and makes recommendations in this regard to the Authority, via the Management Committee.

The Technical Committee are responsible for advising and making recommendations regarding oenological practices and organoleptic aspects of wine. The Committee also makes recommendations regarding the sensorial evaluation procedures and is also responsible for the sensorial evaluation of all classes of wine destined for certification as well as export to ensure compliance with the minimum requirements.

The Wine Evaluation Committees are responsible for the sensorial evaluation of all classes of wine destined for certification as well as export to ensure compliance with the minimum requirements.

The Personnel Committee handles all personnel affairs and remuneration and makes recommendations in this regard to the Management Committee.

AGENTS

SAWIS

SAWIS, established as a Non-Profit under the Companies Act, is contracted by the Wine Certification Authority to carry out the day-to-day application, running and functioning of the schemes. This entails inspections on the premises of participants, drawing wine samples, reporting irregularities, receipt and processing of applications, notices and issuing of certification seals.

Enviroscientific

Enviroscientific® is an independent organization providing professional services as specialist environmental auditors. This Third-Party Certification Body is contracted by the Wine Certification Authority to carry out IPW sustainability audits in accordance with the provisions of the IPW scheme at the farms, wineries and bottling plants (including packaging activities) of participants of the scheme.

Our Mission

to serve as a basis for the development of the distinctiveness and quality of wines,
and additionally, in the case of single vineyard wine, to express the distinctive characteristics
of a small specific site as determined by soil, cultivar, rootstock, clone, meso-climate,
exposure and viticultural and winemaking purposes;
to confirm the correctness of certain indications in connection with the origin of wine;
to serve as a basis for the application of the principles of integrated production in the growing of grapes and the production of wine;
to regulate the registration of farms where grapes intended for the production of (IPW) wine are grown, and of cellars in which such wine is produced;
confirm the correctness of indications relating to integrated production which are used in connection with the sale of such wine;
to establish confidence in such indications when they are thus used.