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Right now “Green”
doesn’t refer to carbon footprints,
threatened fynbos or shy little
creatures. No, the only Green is Bok
Green, and if you’re still unaware of
the Springboks’ triumphant victory in
the World Cup rugby tournament you have
probably been taking part in NASA’s new
space programme for the last while.
Unfortunately the
research isn’t available to us, but I
wonder how much wine - especially
sparkling wine! - was consumed during
the tournament. I would therefore like
to suggest that the wine industry should
team up with SA Rugby... the more the
Boks win, the more wine will be drunk,
thus keeping both the wine farmers and
the Bok supporters happy! A real win-win
situation.
It is entirely
appropriate to acknowledge the
contribution made by legendary Springbok
players of the past like Jan Boland
Coetzee, Hempies du Toit and Jannie
Engelbrecht to the Stellenbosch wine
region. Yet more proof that rugby and
wine are among our top products.
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AMONG the nearly 100 entries in the local
round of this year’s Great Wine Capitals
Global Network Best of Wine Tourism Awards,
members of the Stellenbosch American
Express® Wine Routes held their own.
Vergelegen in the Helderberg was this year’s
winner in both the categories Art and
Culture and Exceptional Wine Tourism
Experience. Delheim triumphed in Best
Sustainable Wine Tourism Practices - the
first time this category has been judged.
And Rustenberg took top honours in the
category for Architecture, Parks and
Gardens.
The
national winner will be announced later this
month during the meeting of the Great Wine
Capitals Global Network in Portugal. Other
members of the Great Wine Capitals are
Bilbao-Rioja (Spain), Bordeaux (France),
Florence (Italy), Melbourne (Australia),
Mendoza (Argentinia), Oporto (Portugal) and
San Francisco-Napa (USA). |
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AND then there was the other big event of
October - I refer of course to the Veritas
Awards. More than 1 900 wines were entered
for this year’s awards and Stellenbosch’s
position as the leading wine region was once
again confirmed.
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Spier, one of the best-known names on the
Wine Routes, shone at the competition with
two Double Gold and five Gold medals - a
tremendous achievement!
A total of 13 Double Gold medals were
awarded to Stellenbosch wines:
Fleur du Cap Unfiltered Merlot 2004, Fort
Simon Chenin Blanc 2006, Hartenberg Cabernet
Sauvignon 2005, Haskell Dombeya Boulder Road
Shiraz 2005, Jordan Blanc Fumé 2006, Kleine
Zalze Cellar Selection Chenin Blanc Bush
Vine 2006, Longridge Pinotage 2004,
Neethlingshof Lord Neethling Weisser
Riesling Noble Late Harvest 2006, Neil Ellis
Pinotage 2006, Simonsig Redhill Pinotage
2005, Spier Private Collection Chardonnay
2006, Sejana Merlot 2005 (also from Spier),
and Zonnebloem Limited Edition Sauvignon
Blanc 2007.
Stellenbosch’s medal tally also included 37
gold, 216 silver and 229 bronze. For the
full results please visit www.veritas.co.za. |
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AND it seems there is yet another
successful festival taking off in the
Stellenbosch region. October saw the
first-ever Farm Festival held at
Blaauwklippen, where for two days
members of the local community had the
opportunity to show and sell their
crafts and other goods on the beautiful
estate.
To the delight of all and amazement
of some, the two-day Farm Festival
attracted 5000 visitors. The
delicious food went down a treat,
original crafts were snapped up,
carriage rides transported visitors
and a special antiques fair alone
attracted more than 1000 people.
“It was a huge success and proves
that the local communities are keen
to share their farming culture and
that there are enough interested
people to share it with,” says Rolf
Zeitvogel, wine maker and general
manager at Blaauwklippen. “All who
took part thoroughly enjoyed
themselves and can’t wait for next
year,” he says.
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THERE has been a big gap at the office since
Marilize Loots, the Wine Routes’
representative at the Stellenbosch Tourism
Office for many years, moved on to another
career opportunity. She has been sorely
missed!
It
is therefore with great pleasure that I
announce our new PR and Administrative
Officer, Shantal Petersen.
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Shantal is Stellenbosch born and bred. She
completed her schooling at the Cloetesville
Senior Secondary School and then trained in
computers for two years. (Her first job will
be to sort out my laptop!) After joining the
staff at Vriesenhof, she was well and truly
bitten by the wine bug.
“Although I was mostly busy in the office, I
was fascinated by the wonderful process of
winemaking and all the activities on the
farm,” says Shantal. “My interest in wine
grows by the day and I can’t wait for more
exposure to the world of Stellenbosch wine
in my new job. I have also realised how
important wine tourism is for the promotion
of the great wines in this region. So this
is definitely my dream job.”
Shantal’s hobbies include the outdoors and
she’s also a keen reader. Her favourite wine
is Pinot Noir, as befits someone from Jan
Boland’s establishment. |
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As part of its ongoing programme, the
Wine Routes hosted a group of Gauteng-based
travel agents in Stellenbosch.
After an
introduction to the magic of wine,
visits to the old town and various
wineries, these young agents are in a
unique position to act as ambassadors
for the Stellenbosch brand and to sell
travel-packages to our region in an
informative manner. |
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THE party
of the week was at the
Arabella Sheraton where the
ABSA Top 10 Pinotage
Trophies were presented.
Fortunately I could hold my
head high on this occasion,
unlike at a recent Top 10
Sauvignon Blanc event.
The
Stellenbosch cellars which
featured in the Top 10 were
Fleur du Cap, Simonsig,
Stellenzicht and Fantail (Morgenhof).
Stellenzicht had particular
reason for celebration as it
was the fourth time in five
years that Guy Webber and
his team walked off with the
Pinotage trophy. I’m sure
not a few toasts were drunk
in honour of this stellar
achievement! |
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MEMBERS PLEASE NOTE: The Annual General
Meeting on 8 November will be addressed
by Professor Nick Vink, head of the
Department of Agricultural Economics at
Stellenbosch. Professor Vink played a
leading role in drawing up the BEE
Manifesto for the Wine Industry and will
speak on what wine farmers may expect in
this regard. Don’t miss this opportunity
to learn more about an important and
topical matter. Thursday 8 November,
17:30 for 18:00, Bodega Restaurant,
Dornier Wine Estate. RSVP to
annareth@wineroute.co.za
All the best until next time!
Annareth Jacobs
CEO Stellenbosch American Express®
Wine Routes
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