Greening the environment
Tuesday, November 12th, 2013
On a visit to Paul Cluver wines in Elgin last week, someone noticed a beautifully hand-crafted bead acacia tree in their tasting room. “I want one!” was her immediate reaction. Sadly, she’s unlikely to get one – because the beaded tree was actually the Nedbank Green Wine award for the best Biodiversity and Wine Initiative (BWI) entrant which Dr Cluver had accepted at a ceremony at Kirstenbosch a few weeks earlier.
As part of their ‘green journey’ Nedbank have sponsored a competition run by Getaway magazine for the best green wines, both from organically grown grapes and members of the Biodiversity and Wine Initiative, for the past five years.
I have the privilege of chairing the panel which judges the entries in the two different categories and can attest – along with my fellow judges Francois Rautenbach of Singita, Christian Eedes, Howard Booysen, Greg Garden of Nedbank, along with bloggers, Clayton Howard and Maggie Mostert – that the prmary criteria for success is wine quality.
Just a decade ago, drinking wine made from organically grown grapes was something of a penance… Often deemed the preserve of the hairy-legged, lentil eating, razor-boycotting, hemp clothing and sandal wearing eco-warriors, it was like paying your TV licence; it was the right thing to do but wasn’t necessarily enjoyable! Thankfully this has changed, as have the general sensitivities towards anything green. Nowadays consumers consciously opt for free-range meats or eggs and organic produce because of the multiple benefits.
As Rautenbach noted in his post-tasting assessment, having witnessed the vagaries of wine choice by foreign guests first hand at internationally renowned safari resort Singita: “the first bottle might be ordered because of its green or organic credentials – but the second bottle is ordered because it’s so good!”
The measure of how far both the farming and winemaking have come is obvious to those who write about wine. A decade or two ago, farmers in Stellenbosch used to heap scorn on producers “the other side of the mountain” for irrigating their vineyards. Nowadays, there’s barely a farm on the Helderberg, Simonsberg, Bottelary or anywhere in between that doesn’t have kilometres of irrigation because the fact of the matter is that vines are plants – and need a bit of supplemental watering so that they don’t stress in the heat waves of late summer.
Practices adopted by organic farmers – such as mulching and composting to not only control weeds but restore organic matter to the soil – are now fairly mainstream. The use of insects or companion planting to control nasty pests is also fairly mainstream. In the cellar, racking and returning of wine is routinely done after a quick consultation of the lunar charts to see if it’s a waxing or waning moon which will either stir up or deposit sediment in the wine.
It was also interesting to note that many opinion formers now believe that South African wine is way ahead of the international curve, courtesy of the Biodiversity and Wine Initiative which WOSA enthusiastically adopted and vigorously promoted a decade ago. At the time there was some staunch opposition and fairly scathing criticism of the programme.
The world is fast recognising the remarkable plant diversity which occurs in the Cape Floral kingdom, the smallest of the world’s six plant kingdoms. Not only that, but there’s a growing appreciation for the stewardship and preservation of indigenous fynbos/flora and fauna which the wine fraternity has adopted. More than 132 000 hectares of land has been set aside by members of the BWI – whereas just over 100 000 hectares are under vine.
That alone speaks volumes.
The winners in the Nedbank Green Wine Awards were:
Organically grown grapes: best red – Laibach Merlot 2012; best white – Waverley Hills Viognier Semillon Chardonnay 2011; best value – Org de Rac unwooded Chardonnay 2013; best overall – Laibach Woolworths Merlot 2012; blogger’s choice – Waverley Hills Shiraz Mourvèdre Viognier 2010.
BWI wines: best red – Uitkyk Carlonet 2009; best white – Paul Cluver Gewürztraminer 2012; best value – Backsberg Tread Lightly Chenin Blanc 2012; best overall – Cluver Gewürztraminer 2012; blogger’s choice – Paul Cluver Chardonnay 2011.
The overall winner in the best farming practices section was Delheim, which was also recognised for its best contribution to conservation as well as to community development. Best contribution to sustainable tourism was awarded to La Motte while Bartinney was rewarded for its sterling work having made the best contribution to farming practices and production integrity.
Caption: The winners of the Nedbank Green Wine awards, Dr Paul Cluver of Paul Cluver wines and Laibach’s Francois van Zyl with Getaway magazine publisher Ian Dinan, (second left) and Nedbank’s group brand executive Greg Garden (extreme right).
– Fiona McDonald