Vergelegen ranks highly at GWC Best of Wine Tourism Awards

Vergelegen homestead in amongst the Camphor trees.

The only category it did not enter was Accommodation, as it does not offer this facility to visitors. This is the third time it has been judged the South African Best of Wine Tourism winner. The last time was in 2009.

"We have never had a winner before who has made such a clean sweep," said Cornelius de Bruyn, mayor of the Cape Winelands District Municipality that together with the city of Cape Town comprises one of the 10 members of the GWC.

The GWC is a network of the world's leading wine-producing countries that shares international best practice to advance standards in wine tourism across the world. In addition to Cape Town-Cape Winelands, its members are Mainz-Rheinhessen (Germany), Bilbao-Rioja (Spain), Bordeaux (France), Florence (Italy), Porto (Portugal), San Francisco-Napa (United States), Mendoza (Argentina), Christchurch-South Island (New Zealand) and newest member, Valparaiso-Casablanca (Chile).

Building South Africa's tourism

Camphors restaurant at Vergelegen.

Cape Town mayor, Patricia de Lille said Vergelegen was a proud example of Cape tourism excellence. "The competition is an important benchmark and demonstrates that our offerings are of an absolutely world-class quality. We have the added advantage of being located in a wine-growing area of unrivalled beauty."

De Bruyn said Cape wine tourism was well placed to benefit from the growth in local tourism. "Tourist arrivals in emerging economies are expected to surpass those in advanced economies such as Europe and North America, as early as 2015. The projected growth rate of tourist arrivals in emerging economy destinations is expected to double that forecast for advanced economy destinations. This presents us with an exciting opportunity, particularly given the importance of tourism to economies in Africa."

Last year in South Africa, international tourist arrivals rose year-on-year by 10.2% - more than two and a half times the global average of 4%.

Best global destinations

As an international GWC winner, Vergelegen joins the ranks of the best of best in global wine tourism:

• California's famous The Hess Collection Winery in the Mount Veeder area, renowned for its extensive private collection of international modern and contemporary paintings and sculpture
  
• Chile's Bodega Ruca Malen at the foot of the Andes and celebrated for its restaurant
  
• France's Château de Rouillac that dates back to the 19th century when it belonged to the famous Baron Haussmann who introduced many urban planning reforms to Paris under Napoleon III
  
• Germany's Weingut Eppelmann Stadecken-Goslar recognised for its innovative use of QR codes in communicating with hikers
  
• Italy's Castello di Gabbiano, with its medieval castle that dates back to the 16th century
  
• New Zealand's Brancott Estate Heritage Centre at Brancott Vineyard, the site of the original Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc plantings
  
• Portugal's The Yeatman, a luxury wine hotel with an award-winning wine cellar and Michelin star restaurant acclaimed for its modern interpretation of traditional Portugal cuisine;
  
• Spain's Bodegas Dinastia Vivanco in Rioja, a museum and winery complex, celebrated for its Enoturismo y Experiencias that offers a wide range of exhibitions, courses and other innovative experiences

South African winners

A newcomer to the competition, Babylonstoren of Paarl, came second amongst the South African contenders, winning both the Accommodation and the Architecture and Landscapes categories and taking third position in the Restaurant category. Spice Route, another first-time winner, took the top score in the Innovative Tourism Experiences.