One of the vehicles to generate funds is the <CL° concept series. Oldenburg Vineyards donates a portion (around 10%) of the proceeds from every bottle of <CL° sold, to local after care centre Aitsa! This encourages and allows customers, agents, restaurants and retailers alike to also contribute. Created to be delicious, enjoyable wines that deliver quality and value, the <CL° series is packaged in an eye-catching, sleek and clever design. The key to deciphering the name lies on the back of the label, and the answer is a play on the slightly cooler temperatures the farm enjoys, compared to neighbouring Stellenbosch: the ‘<’ denotes ‘less/smaller than’, ‘CL’ represents the vehicle registration for Stellenbosch and the ‘°’ is degrees Celsius. Together, it reads: “cooler than Stellenbosch”.
The <CL° White and Red blends are available directly from the farm, online and in selected retail stores at R120 per bottle.
Aitsa! was established in 2014 to provide children of the local communities with a safe and stimulating after-school environment. Since then, the initiative has grown to offer the children so much more than just after-school care.
In 2020, Aitsa! has taken in 230 children between the ages of 5 and 13, and they employ 18 permanent staff members. The majority of the children are from vulnerable homes, and 16 of the staff members are also from previously disadvantaged backgrounds. Five members of the team are studying to become teachers, while another has started Grade 11 and 12, with plans to pursue her dream of becoming a social worker.
Their programs extend over multiple areas of growth and development:
Their Food and Nutritional program provides the children with a balanced meal, 5 days a week.
The Computer Centre is equipped with 20 laptops. All the children participate in the maths program, with many also part of remedial reading groups and smaller groups are tutored in maths and Afrikaans.
The children participate in a wide variety of Sports and Arts related activities, including netball, soccer, chess, mountain biking and golf. One of the senior girls has also been selected as a member of the Stellenbosch Children’s Choir.
The Psycho-Social Support team engages with a number of children for weekly counselling and social work sessions. 27 mentors connect with the senior children and 87 volunteers give their time to support the children, parents and staff of Aitsa!
To learn more about Aitsa!, visit their website or Facebook Page.
If you want to support this initiative, you can order your <CL° wines here.
There are plenty of good news stories about upliftment and transformation in the South African Wine Industry. The #wineforgood website, launched by wine.co.za in June 2016, hosts all the positive stories from the winelands, of which there are plenty. wine.co.za has made April a focus for #wineforgood stories. Share them far and wide and spread the good news about South African wine.