This paper considers the challenges facing stakeholders in one particular case of private sector self-regulation: the Ethical Trading Initiative’s pilot project in monitoring compliance with its ‘Base Code’ in the South African wine industry. It explores questions arising both out of direct participation in ETI monitoring and inspection processes and out of independent research conducted on behalf of a ‘Southern’ NGO, the Centre for Rural Legal Studies (CRLS), in Stellenbosch. In particular, it considers some of the preconditions for positive engagement between different stakeholders in the development of ‘socially responsible sourcing’ codes such as the ETIs.