New protégé for Cape Winemakers Guild
Elmarie Botes is the 2011 intern selected by the Cape Winemakers Guild to its protégé programme, a mentorship initiative that gives talented graduates the opportunity to work side by side with some of the country's top winemakers. She has begun her programme at the cellar at Steenberg, under the eye of winemaker John Loubser.
John Loubser and Elmarie Botes
The Guild's fifth protégé, she hails from Blackheath in Cape Town and completed her degree in Viticulture and Oenology at the University of Stellenbosch last year. She joins the all-girl squad alongside fellow protégés, Sacha Claassen and Tamsyn Jeftha, who embarked on the three year programme in 2010.
"I will be asking as many questions as possible, so that I can learn the finer details of making exceptional wines. After just a few months I've already learnt many secrets to making good Sauvignon blanc and Méthode Cap Classique wines," she adds.
The programme was launched in 2006, under the auspices of the Nedbank Cape Winemakers Guild Trust, with the goal of bringing about transformation in the wine industry by cultivating, nurturing and empowering promising individuals to become winemakers of excellence.
Students interested in applying for the programme can go to www.capewinemakersguild.com.
