South African vineyard wins IWC Fairtrade Award in UK

L - R: Petrus Bosman – MD Bosman Family Vineyards, Klaas Morkel – Community Developer and Corlea Fourie – Winemaker at Bosman Family Vineyards

The award is for wine-producing regions that are officially recognised as being part of the Fairtrade Association. Wines are judged on their individual merits and the award is presented to the highest quality wine at the IWC with Fairtrade certification. This year, 338 judges from 25 countries tasted 21609 different wines from over 50 countries.

The winning wine was the 2011 Wild Valley Chenin Blanc from the premium Fairtrade range of Sainsbury's, 'Taste The Difference' and is made from the Chenin Blanc vineyards from the Wellington Wine region. The judges described the wine as floral with white fruit aromas, fresh acidity, appealing grapefruit honey flowers and a rich creamy, bready texture.

Su Birch, CEO of WOSA, was thrilled with the result, "South Africa is the leader in sustainable and ethical wine production in the world and we are excited that a South African wine is recognised in this way and that such outstanding quality can actually be produced in an ethical and environmentally responsible way."

Bosman Family Vineyards MD, Petrus Bosman, commented, "Farming with sustainable principles is something that has been carried over from one generation to the next in our family and our experience has been that the quality of your product increases over time, when you consistently invest in people and nature."

According to Francois Theron, social anthropologist at the School of Public Leadership at Stellenbosch University and social development consultant to the vineyard, "This award gives meaning to its efforts to establish social planning partnerships through which all farm stakeholders, owners and staff are capacitated and empowered to engage in sustainable social farming. Its approach acts as a benchmark for the industry."