Wine pioneer Spatz Sperling receives 1659 Medal of Honour

Tuesday, 14 February, 2012
Stellenbosch Wine Routes
In commemoration of the first Cape harvest on 2 February 1659, the inimitable Spatz Sperling, owner of the Delheim Wine Estate outside Stellenbosch, was awarded the prestigious 1659 Medal of Honour for his indelible contribution to the South-African wine industry.
The 1659 Medal of Honour – which was last awarded in 2004 – was presented to Sperling for his lifelong pioneering efforts towards innovative marketing inisiatives in the wine industry. One such pioneering marketing tool devised by Sperling, in collaboration with the late Frans Malan of Simonsig and the late Neil Joubert of Spier, was the country’s very first wine route system to entice visitors to the wine farms in the Stellenbosch region.

The Stellenbosch Wine Route was founded officially in 1971 and this ground-breaking initiative has changed the face of wine tourism in South Africa. Spawning a host of similar regional wine routes of which there are 18 today, the Stellenbosch Wine Routes remain the biggest and most visited of them all.

The business of selling and marketing Delheim’s wines also occupied Sperling during the 1970s. It was one such exercise, in the form of a by-invitation-only ‘wine auction’ in Delheim’s cellar in 1974 to raise money for Stellenbosch Rotary of which Sperling was president, that provided the impetus for the inaugural Nederburg Wine Auction in 1975, still one of Cape wine’s premier local and international sales and marketing events.

In addition, Sperling recognised the natural symbiosis between wine and food and its role in wine appreciation by, in 1972, introducing ‘cheese boards’ for wine lovers visiting Delheim over the lunch hour. These later expanded into the more substantial ‘Vintner’s Platter’, in turn becoming Delheim’s Garden Restaurant. The concept was quickly embraced throughout the winelands, with few Cape wineries today not offering a platter, picnic or fully-fledged restaurant, many among the country’s finest dining establishments.

Other significant contributions by Sperling over the years include the country’s first pinotage rosé and the Cape Winemakers Guild, co-initiated by his then winemaker Kevin Arnold (now co-owner and winemaker of Waterford Estate), in 1982.

“Africa has been very good to me. I arrived in South Africa in April 1951 as a 20-year-old World War II refugee with basically nothing, but the wine industry took me under its wing and cared for me over the years,” shares Sperling.

Criteria for winner of 1659 Medal of Honour:

The person or institution who receives the 165 medal of honour should have made an essential contribution towards the industry, of which there must be substantial evidence. The industry (or a specific aspect thereof) must have been influenced positively by it and must have a lasting impact with all indications of a special legacy.

It must be worthy of praise and significantly changed the thinking and/or lives of people. There must be clear indications of intellectual conceptualising the idea which must be creative, innovative and unique and already been proved in practise. It should encourage and inspire others in the industry to do the same or even better.

Former winners of the esteemed 1659 Medal of Honour include Nelson Mandela, former KWV chairpersons André du Toit and Ritzema de la Bat and esteemed winemakers Günter Brözel, N.C. Krone and Sydney Back.
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Oom Spatz walking in the vineyards
Oom Spatz walking in the vineyards

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