Echoes of scandal 31 January 2008

Denials that ‘tainted’ KWV sauvignon is available for sale

Remember the ‘flavourant scandal’ of some three years back, in which two senior  KWV winemakers were found to be illegally doctoring their savignon blanc? They, though not the person in overall charge of KWV’s winemaking, were sacked (though they found significant new jobs with remarkable speed). Strangely, perhaps, in a week where there was a spreading rumour that they were (at last!) going to be prosecuted for criminal activity, a journalist published a story suggesting that the doctored wine was actually being currently sold.

In an article in the Financial Mail, Neil Pendock said that ‘the wine is available in the remainder bin at Checkers’, although ‘SA's most infamous wine’ was supposed to have been destroyed.

Now the Wine and Spirit Board has taken the unusual step of sending a letter to Mr Pendock (with copies to some other parties, including the editor of Grape) refuting the statement. Only one tank of Laborie 2004 Sauvignon Blanc was shown to be problematic, the Board says, and it was ‘destroyed under the supervision of officers of the Department of Agriculture’. Other Laborie 2004 sauvignon blanc is legitimately in the market place.

Meanwhile, those rumours that the ex-KWV alleged criminals are to be formally charged have not been shown to have any substance. It would surely be strange if they were, given the long delay, and particularly as it seems to suit most interested parties for the whole episode to be forgotten under the carpet, where it seemed safely to be at rest.