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Delheim scoops 2013 Nedbank Green Wine Awards Trophy

Delheim Wine Estate, a Stellenbosch stalwart nestled on the slopes of the Simonsberg, excelled at the 2013 Nedbank Green Wine Awards as overall winner of the Best Farming Practices category which favours a holistic, conservation-minded approach to farming and identifies excellence in community and tourism development.

In addition, this prominent Winelands pride of the Sperling family also scooped two of the four sub-categories in the Best Farming Practices division: Best Contribution to Community Development and Best Contribution to Conservation.

The judges were in agreement that Delheim stood out for its community spirit and scale of conservation action taken. “Delheim’s team spotted a koppie (Klapmutskop) that was not in use and saw that it was infested with alien vegetation. They went out, cleared the alien plants and conserved the koppie. They looked beyond their borders to find environmental problems and then stepped up and made an effort. In doing so they galvanised the community into action,” shared Cameron Ewart-Smith, the editor of Getaway magazine and  2013 Best Farming Practices judge.

Delheim was the founding member of the Greater Simonsberg Conservancy (previously the Klapmuts Conservancy), a functioning non-profit and public-benefit organisation that serves 28 members on the Simonsberg. Also making a favourable impression on the judges was this pioneering estate’s management of a cleaner production strategy in the cellar to improve the quality of waste water (through participation in a study by a Stellenbosch University Master’s student). Delheim’s biological pest control is another notable factor, such as the non-toxic ‘hot sauce’ sprayed onto vines to deter herbivores from grazing.

Passionately committed to the principles and practices of environmentally sustainable wine production, Delheim was one of the first wine farms to become a Biodiversity and Wine Initiative (BWI) member, and has since achieved BWI Championship status. The estate recently shined as the only wine farm amongst the top five nominees in the biodiversity category for the 2013 Eco-Logic Awards in association with SABC3.

Eager to share its slice of Winelands paradise with fellow eco-enthusiasts, Delheim now offers delicious Green Picnics under towering oaks at the river’s edge.

Your hand woven basket, brimming with homemade goodness ranging from pickled pumpkin, cream cheese salmon rolls and ostrich steak salad, to pork rillettes and farm fresh bread, will greet you in a serene spot on the lush lawns, to be leisurely enjoyed to the sounds of the flowing Klip River and abundant bird life.

“At Delheim we believe that everything should proceed in harmony with nature. And we try to echo this in the way we produce our time-honoured wines, right through from the vineyards to the cellar. As a strong follower of sustainable farming, we are passionately committed to the conservation and the rehabilitation of our natural habitat and indigenous flora. With these Green Picnics we invite people to re-connect with Delheim and nature, the natural way,” shares co-owner Victor Sperling.

The Delheim Green Picnic costs R149 per person and includes a bottle of Delheim Heerenwijn or Delheim Pinotage Rosé per couple. Vegetarian options are available on request and a special kiddies menu can be arranged at R70 per child.

These picnics are on offer seven days a week and pre-bookings are essential. To order your delicious basket contact Delheim Restaurant at Tel: 021 888 4607 or email. [email protected]

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