Thursday 8 April 2004

This site will be updated on 15 April  2004 at 17:30

Business - Sakenuus

• Auction shows price drop
• Long and testing harvest
• Drilling for water in Boland Mountains
• BAT skenk beursgeld
• Wynplase in aanvraag
• Boschendal could bring development worth R3,8 billion
• Chenin line-up

Auction shows price drop

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THE sales at  the 30th Nederburg Auction over the weekend dropped to R6,7 million last weekend - down on last year's record of R7,5 million.

Fewer cases were sold  (Chenin Blanc proved the least popular) and average prices were also down by 11%.

The average price per case (9 litres) was R1118, down from R1230 last year.

"This can be attributed to the strong rand and is also a reflection of the current tough trading conditions," said Bennie Howard, Auction manager.

The two-day event was attended by 1 700 buyers and guests from 33 foreign countries, with a gala fashion spectacle featuring famous names in the fashion and entertainment world as one of its highlights. Among the models were Joost

KEY. One of the highlights of the Nederburg Auction was the opening of the new Heritage Centre which is the gateway to cellar tours at the winery. It is named after Günter Brözel (left), cellarmaster at Nederburg for 33 years, as a tribute to his legendary career. It includes a tasting room and a gallery which will display Nederburg's heritage. With Brözel is the current cellarmaster at Nederburg, Razvan Macici.

and Amor van der Westhuizen, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Brumilda van Rensburg, Danny K, Anneline Kriel, Gloria Arendz, Josie Borain, Michelle McLean, Tanya Fourie and Jo-Ann Strauss.

Guests were also entertained to a magnificent luncheon on Saturday, after which they lazed on the lawn of the manor house while being entertained by the jazzy tunes of the Jonny Cooper Big Band.

Another highlight was the symbolic handover of the key to the doors of the new Heritage Centre at Nederburg to Günter Brözel, who was cellarmaster for 33 years. The centre has been named after him as a tribute to his legendary career.

The local supermarket retailers and wholesalers continued their dominance of the top ten buyers, accounting for 33% of total sales.

The top buyers were Pick 'n Pay, Checkers, Makro, Cape Town Fish Market and The Butcher Shop & Grill, followed by Metro Cash & Carry and Spar Western Cape.

There were two international buyers in the top ten - Hotel Palmquell in Namibia and wine importer Vina Vita from Russia.

"After 30 years prices at the auction have increased dramatically. The average price in 1975 was R1,50 per bottle, compared with more than R100 per bottle today, confirming the top quality of South African wines," said Howard.

Overall the highest price paid was R12 000 for six bottles of Monis Collectors Port Stamp Collection.

Top prices for red wines were R6 200 for six bottles of Lanzerac Pinotage 1964; for dry white R1 600 for six bottles of Hamilton Russell Chardonnay 2001; and for noble late harvest R1 800 for six 500 ml bottles of De Wetshof Edeloes 1998.

The highest price paid for an MCC sparkling wine was R530 for one three-litre bottle of JC Le Roux Pinot Noir 1990.

The highest price paid for a fortified wine was R410 for six bottles of Nuy White Muscadel Full Sweet 1997.

The charity sale raised R245 000 in total, with the highest price being paid for a 300-litre barrel of Nederburg Shiraz 2004 bought by Whitey Basson (Checkers).

A total of R6000 was paid for a special dinner and tasting for six at the Graham Beck cellar prepared by cellarmasters Charles Hopkins and Pieter Ferreira.

A tasting of Plaisir de Merle wines with dinner and accommodation fetched R5000.

The beneficiaries were the Hospice Palliative Care Association of South Africa and the Mothers To Mothers AIDS support group.

THE summer of 2004 has been unusually cool. This means that the growing and ripening conditions are very good - but that they are dragging on and on and demanding nerves of steel, according to Graham Beck Coastal cellarmaster Charles Hopkins.

One of the challenges this year was uneven berry set, meaning that the grapes on the bunches did not develop uniformly. This would result in some bunches being ripe and ready for harvest while others are still unripe.

To counteract this, the Graham Beck team did a great deal of green bunch removal; essentially a way of pre-selecting bunches to ensure even ripeness.

Graham Beck have also used the latest neutron probe technology to monitor soil water and keep the vines in balance; while developments in canopy management (the leaves of the vine) have meant grapes that accumulate sugars at a constant and positive rate. A vine that stops ripening can be nerve-wracking and disastrous.

The long hanging time has allowed the grapes time to ripen slowly and accumulate complexity

Grapes are arriving at the cellars in peak condition.

Shiraz is showing bigger berry size, so there is likely to be a "fruitier" character to the wines.

A PROJECT to investigate the potential for abstracting groundwater from a deep-lying geological structure known as the Table Mountain Group (TMG) Aquifer Alliance, has been launched.

A public meeting to discuss the proposed drilling sites in the Boland mountains will be held in the Huguenot Community Hall in Paarl on 5 May from 18:30 to 20:00.

The long term aim of the five year project is to establish the environmental, technical and financial feasibility of augmenting Cape Town's water supplies with groundwater abstracted from the Table Mountain Group Aquifer.

The project is one of the water supply strategies recommended by the City's Bulk Water Supply Studies undertaken in 1999 and 2001.

The area being investigated lies between Tulbagh and Kleinmond where the Aquifer occurs between depths of 200m and 1 000m below the surface.

The project has reached the stage where a number of exploratory boreholes are to be sunk to determine groundwater quantities and quality.

The drilling programme is to be confined to about ten target areas selected through rigorous hydrogeological screening. This groundwater exploration requires authorisation in terms of the Environmental Conservation Act.  Only surface (above grond) impacts will be considered during this application, as no water will be abstracted.

Persons wishing to be identified as interested and affected parties can contribute to the environmental scoping process for the feasibility study and pilot project. Further information can be found on the internet at www.tmg-aquifer.co.za.

To register as an affected party, send your contact details to Charl de Villiers or Penelope Jones of Ninham Shand Consulting Services, fax 424-5588 or enviro@shands.co.za.

DIE hoop is dat baie van die studente wat beurse by die Drakenstein Munisipaliteit ontvang in die plaaslike regering sal kom werk en sodoende 'n bydrae aan die gemeenskap sal maak.

Só het die burgemeester van Drakenstein, Herman Bailey, gesê nadat British America Tabacco (BAT) R60 000 aan dié Munisipalitiet geskenk het vir hul beursprogram.

Bailey sê beroepsrigtings soos boekhouding, stadsbeplanning en die ingenieurswese vorm die kern van die werk van die plaaslike regering en beurse word veral aan studente gegee wat in dié rigtings studeer.

Die Munisipaliteit verskaf reeds beurse aan 14 studente met 'n waarde van R12 500 elk. Tans is daar 160 beursaansoekers in die Drakensteingebied en daar gaan so ver as moontlik voorsiening gemaak word om almal te akkommodeer.

* BAT has donated R60 000 for municipal bursaries.

WYNPLASE rondom Paarl is steeds in groot aanvraag - al het belangstelling van buitelandse beleggers nou redelik afgeplat weens die sterker plaaslike geldeenheid.

Die rede, sê Johan Louw, mede-eienaar van die Homenet Caprop-kantoor in die Paarl, is dat sulke plase nou besonder gewild is onder Suid-Afrikaanse kopers op soek na 'n eiesoortige lewenstyl, bo en behalwe die plaas se produktiewe waarde.

Kleinhoewes in die omgewing raak ook al hoe meer gewild onder "lewenstyl"-kopers, hoewel hulle vereistes rakende sekuriteit veroorsaak dat daar min gepaste eiendomme beskikbaar is.

Louw sê die dorp raak ook gewild onder afgetredenes en as 'n woonplek vir jongmense wat in die groter Kaapstad gebied werk. Sulke kopers raap skaars eenhede in aftree-oorde naby die dorp sowel as nuwe wooneenhede in sekuriteitskomplekse op.

"Daar is inderwaarheid 'n algemene ondervoorsiening van wooneenhede in die  Paarl en dit het bygedra tot 'n styging van tot 20 persent per jaar vir die afgelope twee jaar."

Aan die bopunt van die mark word eenhede in die nuwe gholflandgoedere naby Paarl vir pryse van R1,5 miljoen en meer verkoop.

"Die Boschenmeer-ontwikkeling aan die buitewyke van die dorp het reeds verkope van meer as R400 miljoen behaal.

"Die Pearl Valley Estate op die Franschhoekpad is ook in groot aanvraag. Hoewel die ontwikkelings nouliks die normale mark verteenwoordig, dra dit beslis by tot die algemene gewildheid van die hele gebied.

"Nog 'n bonuspunt is dat die Winelands Wellness Centre onlangs geopen is."

THE full extent of the new owner's ambitious development plans for the 2 240ha Boschendal Estate has not, as yet, been grasped by the general public, says Clive Venning, CEO at Boschendal, and Graham Johnson, now MD of the Boschendal Property Development Company.

Anglo American sold the property to a consortium for R323 million last year. Nedbank Corporate will help fund the purchase and the development work.

"The leader of the new consortium, Clive Venning, and his team propose a development programme that could run for ten years and that could result in R2 billion worth of land sales and in a staggering R3,8 billion in total property development.

"It is likely, also, to promote substantial employment within the area. Boschendal, in short, is set to become the premier upmarket residential precinct of the Western Cape."

The first phase of the new owner's plan involves bringing 20 Founder's Estates of about 20 hectares each to the market from between R15 and 25 million. These are being developed on the 917ha of the Boschendal section of which the new owners have already taken transfer (Rhone and Good Hope).

The Founder's Estate owners will be able to use this cottage as a guest house and club premises. They will too be entitled to receive a quota of the wines produced and to have their bottles labelled with their names.

Phase 2 of the new owners' plan involves taking over the remaining 1,337ha. This will be done once planning permission has been received which could take another 18 to 24 months - but it is on this section that large-scale residential development will take place.

The new owners will be developing a 300 unit retirement village and some 400 farmyard style villages on the footprints of 30 existing farm villages which will in most cases be demolished, but some will be renovated.

In essence, says Johnson, this means that Boschendal will be a premium, low density development which blends and complements the surroundings, has a very low impact on the landscape and is sensitive to the environment and local community.

A unique feature of the take-over is the preservation of the "integrity" of the farming operation. The entire agricultural unit continues to be managed and farmed by Boschendal and this is entrenched through a notarial lease on the land.

The plots will vary in size from 1 250 sq/m to 10 000 sq/m and will be selling between R2 and R8 million. The homes built on them, says Johnson, will in all probability cost as much or more, giving an average value for the plot and homes around here of around R4 to R5 million.

"I predict that these farmyard village homes will become some of the most sought after in the entire Western Cape," said Venning.

The properties are marketed by Pam Golding  Franschhoek.

CHENIN BLANC is at last receiving the kudos it deserves as a varietal worthy of serious vinification.A sampling of the top wines from the 2004 Wine Magazine Tops at Spar Chenin Blanc Challenge quickly reveals why: three 4 Star and four 4 Star wines emerged from this year's Challenge.

Wine lovers have the opportunity to assess for themselves a selection of the top ten Chenins from the Challenge, at tutored tastings - led by Zakkie Bester, chairman of the Chenin Blanc Association - next month.

The tastings take place at The President Hotel in Sea Point on 6 May at 18:30. Tickets for the tasting (plus light snacks afterwards) cost R110 a person.

Wines to be tasted are Kanu, Spier, Ken Forrester Meinert, Fleur du Cap, Kleine Zalze, Zondernaam, Rudera Robust, Rijks  and Spice Route. To book, phone Phone Dean Dicks at 530-3205 or email dean@rsp.co.za.

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