Delheim
Wine Estate, a Stellenbosch stalwart nestled on the slopes of the Simonsberg,
excelled at the 2013 Nedbank Green Wine Awards as overall winner of the Best
Farming Practices category which favours a holistic, conservation-minded
approach to farming and identifies excellence in community and tourism
development.
In
addition, this prominent Winelands pride of the Sperling family also scooped
two of the four sub-categories in the Best Farming Practices division: Best
Contribution to Community Development and Best Contribution to Conservation.
The
judges were in agreement that Delheim stood out for its community spirit and
scale of conservation action taken. “Delheim’s team spotted a koppie
(Klapmutskop) that was not in use and saw that it was infested with alien
vegetation. They went out, cleared the alien plants and conserved the koppie.
They looked beyond their borders to find environmental problems and then
stepped up and made an effort. In doing so they galvanised the community into
action,” shared Cameron Ewart-Smith, the editor of Getaway magazine and 2013
Best Farming Practices judge.
Delheim
was the founding member of the Greater Simonsberg Conservancy (previously the
Klapmuts Conservancy), a functioning non-profit and public-benefit organisation
that serves 28 members on the Simonsberg. Also making a favourable impression
on the judges was this pioneering estate’s management of a cleaner production
strategy in the cellar to improve the quality of waste water (through
participation in a study by a Stellenbosch University Master’s student).
Delheim’s biological pest control is another notable factor, such as the
non-toxic ‘hot sauce’ sprayed onto vines to deter herbivores from grazing.
Passionately
committed to the principles and practices of environmentally sustainable wine
production, Delheim was one of the first wine farms to become a Biodiversity
and Wine Initiative (BWI) member, and has since achieved BWI Championship
status. The estate recently shined as the only wine farm amongst the top five
nominees in the biodiversity category for the 2013 Eco-Logic Awards in
association with SABC3.
Eager
to share its slice of Winelands paradise with fellow eco-enthusiasts, Delheim
now offers delicious
Green Picnics under towering oaks at the river’s edge.
Your
hand woven basket, brimming with homemade goodness ranging from pickled
pumpkin, cream cheese salmon rolls and ostrich steak salad, to pork rillettes
and farm fresh bread, will greet you in a serene spot on the lush lawns, to be
leisurely enjoyed to the sounds of the flowing Klip River and abundant bird
life.
“At
Delheim we believe that everything should proceed in harmony with nature. And
we try to echo this in the way we produce our time-honoured wines, right
through from the vineyards to the cellar. As a strong follower of sustainable
farming, we are passionately committed to the conservation and the
rehabilitation of our natural habitat and indigenous flora. With these Green
Picnics we invite people to re-connect with Delheim and nature, the
natural way,” shares co-owner Victor Sperling.
The
Delheim Green Picnic costs R149 per person and includes a bottle of Delheim
Heerenwijn or Delheim Pinotage Rosé per couple. Vegetarian options are
available on request and a special kiddies menu can be arranged at R70 per
child.
These
picnics are on offer seven days a week and pre-bookings are essential. To order
your delicious basket contact Delheim Restaurant at Tel: 021 888 4607 or
email. restaurant@delheim.com