Since its establishment in 2006, under the auspices of the Nedbank Cape Winemakers Guild Trust, the Protégé Programme has mentored five aspiring winemakers.
"This year (2011) marks the 16th year of Nedbank's sponsorship of the Cape Winemakers Guild. The length of our involvement with the Guild is evidence of the mutually successful relationship we have established over the years, and the establishment of the Protégé Programme has allowed us to also contribute towards the transformation of this industry," said Kone Gugushe, divisional executive for corporate social responsibility at Nedbank. "This reinforces the bank's commitment to the South African agricultural sector and the wine industry in particular."
At the main auction, R132 600 was raised through the one-of-a-kind 18-litre 2009 Cape Winemakers Guild Auction Reserve comprising a blend of top wines from members of the Guild. It was purchased by Zdenek Lang of the Czech Republic for R25 000. This was the third consecutive year that the charity item was bought by Lang, who has donated it back to the Guild for resale at the 2012 charity auction.
Wines made by the first two protégés to graduate from the programme, Howard Booysen and Praisy Dlamini, are also bringing in vital funds for the programme. Two special collector's packs comprising three bottles of Booysen's 2010 Weisser Riesling and three bottles of Dlamini's 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon, which fetched R12 000 at a recent Guild charity auction in Johannesburg, also went on offer at the silent auction.
At a recent dinner showcasing this year's auction wines at Auberge du Lac at Brocket Hall, England, hosted by Paul Plant, a regular Guild Auction buyer from the UK, £3000 was raised in aid of the Protégé Programme.
The three protégés who are currently in the programme are Sacha Claassen, who works with Bernhard Veller at Nitida, Tamsyn Jeftha who is at Villiera with Jeff Grier and Elmarie Botes who is at Steenberg with John Loubser. All three will in turn be making a substantial contribution towards the Protégé Programme when their wines, made during their mentorship, are sold at various Guild charity auctions.
