Queries about billboard on N1
2007-02-08
THE huge billboard recently erected next to the N1 between Paarl and Klapmuts has attracted attention to the wine brand it advertises, Matuba.
Matuba, produced in a square bottle, is a product of the trading consortium Cape Coastal Vintners, which was formed to market the products of the cellars Boland, Wamakersvallei, Wellington, Bovlei and Riebeek.
However, the National Roads Agency has pointed out that the costly sign will have to be removed, as it stands on rural land and infringes the regulations for signage along national roads.
According to a spokesperson for the NRA, Elma Lourens, billboards may be erected in urban areas as long as they are more than ten metres outside the road reserve with the permission of the agency. Such boards may not be larger than 36 square metres and there may not be another billboard within 2 kilometres.
“However, in rural areas such billboards are not allowed. We cannot allow the rural area to be despoiled by such signage and will have to prosecute the landowner if the owners of the sign do not co-operate by removing it voluntarily.”
The Drakenstein Heritage Foundation has lodged an objection with the NRA to the board erected at the “entrance to the world famous Paarl winelands area”.
“Its massive size, its prominent position on a rise and its shocking intrusion into the farming environment is unacceptable. “Most offensive is the ‘Macdonaldising’ of the winelands cultural environment. The exceptional natural beauty of the Winelands environment must be protected at all costs,” said DHF secretary Cathy Raymond.
* Meanwhile Cape Coast Vintners is growing. Recently Spier Wines, formerly known as Winecorp, transferred its non-core assets and the Winecorp name to Cape Coastal Vintners.
Under an agreement signed on 7 December, all non-core brands and inventory will be traded under Cape Coastal Vintners’ newly formed subsidiary Winecorp, including the wine brand Dumisani.
Spier Wines will continue to produce and manage core wine brands Spier, Savanha, Sejana and Naledi.
Spier Wines, and PLB, its UK-based importer and distributor, will each acquire a shareholding in Winecorp, and will have board representation in the new company.
The deal enhances co-operation within the wine industry, with bottling and warehousing to be shared by the two groups.
The Cape Coastal Vintners acquisition is a boon to a broader strategic position that recently saw it acquire a majority share in US importer Hemingway & Hale.
Cape Coastal Chairman Johann Pieterse said, “The deal with Spier fits our strategy to form joint ventures with major players in the wine industry. We’ve secured a solid base of wine supply through our alliance with five cellars, which will ensure stability in volumes and quality for our international markets.”
In a separate transaction in October, the Longridge brand and winery, formerly of the Winecorp stable, was sold to a private investor from the Netherlands.
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