Hoe op aarde boer jy intensief sonder om koolstofdioksied te produseer?
What attracted me to Waterkloof wines, as a horse lover, was that they use horses in their vineyards. I reckoned it was to lower their carbon footprint, but Christiaan Loots, the farm manager, assured me that it was economically motivated.
The first Winelands Bicycle Map is finally available!
Villiera is just one of the many local wineries to join the green movement. This forward-thinking winery has always sought out sustainable initiatives to lessen its impact on the environment. By ensuring that its green strategies also make good economic sense, it keeps itself affordable both on local shelves and in the export market. Aggressive water management, natural pest controls, biodiversity initiatives and a strong culture of recycling have been the forerunners to its latest project - an estate-wide alternative energy solution, outfitted entirely by homegrown solutions provider, enerGworx, using locally designed and manufactured products.
On a recent Saturday morning a group of members of our wine club and their family and friends gathered at the farm for a day of tree planting, wine tasting and a well-earned lunch. Part of being a Backsberg Wine Club member involves the opportunity to plant a tree in your family's name, on the farm. This ties into our philosophy of care for the environment; it was important for me to extend that view to the wine club.
Pick n Pay is now offering wine bottled in plastic - to be correct, PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate). There are considerable benefits to using PET bottles for wine. They are light-weight and therefore significantly more eco-friendly as they require less energy to produce.
Traditionally, PET was used for sporting events or in-flight catering, where there is a very fast turnover. Now with a new oxygen barrier technology, it is possible to achieve a significantly longer shelf life, making it ideal for wine products.
In keeping with the country's status as one of the most eco-progressive winemaking nations, local winemakers are starting to introduce lighter wine bottles into their collections to help off-set their carbon footprints. As reported in the Business Report recently, sales of individually packaged South African Wines in the UK rose by 11 percent in 2009 and Wines of South Africa (WOSA), expect further growth this year.
The Uitkyk wine estate is the newest winery to become a Biodiversity & Wine Initiative (BWI) Champion and the 20th to do so. The estate is at 591 ha one of the largest in the Stellenbosch area. Uitkyk has set aside more than 312 ha of virgin veld, or 52% of the total property for conservation! The standard requirement for championship status is 10 ha of virgin veld.
Backsberg has won the Sustainability Award at the inaugural Drinks Business Green Awards. The winners of this international competition were announced at an awards ceremony in London. Louise Wishart, marketing manager of our UK importer, Ellis of Richmond, was there to receive the award on their behalf.
Franschhoek would like to be the first environmentally sustainable wine Valley in South Africa.
My head was spinning from all the technical details I had tried to take in over a week of travelling from farm to farm. The area looked pretty arid, so my expectations were low. I wanted to finish off my research and get home.
When forth burst a most energetic farmer, Michelle du Preez, who together with her husband Roelf and winemaker Marinus Potgieter, run this farm with gusto. Talk about a boerevrou wat haar man kan staan! Managing a string of kids in between ' it was school holidays after all ' I sensed the importance of family. I related to her answer to my question, why did you go organic?
In 1989 three friends met at a pub in London called the Slug and Lettuce. When they noticed that the people at the next-door table were discussing green issues too, they pulled the tables together ' and thus the concept was born.
