Thursday: 8 May April 2003

This site will be updated on: 15 May 2003 at 17:00

Business - Sakenuus

• Concern over crowded cheese fest
• Minister appeals to farmers
• African Terroir launches wines
• Icon wine now at Laborie

THE SA Cheese Festival management will have to think long and hard about measures to control the numbers of visitors to next year's festival.

This year's festival at Bien Donné was hugely successful, drawing 26 000 visitors from 25 to 28 April - nearly double the 14 000 of last year.

Exhibitors were amazed at the great numbers of cheese enthusiasts that streamed through the gates for the four sunny days of the festival, and are still kept busy by orders generated there.

closed when 7640 people had entered, to ensure the safety of those already inside.

This led to a confrontation with organiser Johan Ehlers, manager of Agri-Expo, at the gate.

Said Ehlers, "There were a lot of angry people who had purchased tickets beforehand, then got stuck in a traffic jam on the way to the festival, only to be told at the end of a half hour queue that they could not enter.

"We will definitely have to re-think the format of the festival. The cheese tent, larger than the year before with wider aisles, could not cope with the inflow of visitors.

"One option is to limit numbers by selling all tickets beforehand, but then we could lose a number of foreign tourists who attended the festival this year on the spur of the moment.

"The other option is to set up the festival terrain in a different way, breaking op the cheese pavilions into smaller stands so that people spread out more.

"The main issue is that we must not tarnish the reputation of this fabulous festival, but must manage its popularity in a positive way."

FARMERS can assist the provincial government in providing training facilities for agricultural workers.

Speaking to farmers at Vendôme in Paarl last week, Johan Gelderblom, Western Cape Minister of Agriculture, told the agricultural community that the Western Cape government was decentralising agricultural training.

New entrants to agriculture from outlying areas no longer need to travel to Elsenburg, but are now able to attend short and longer courses throughout the Western Cape.

A flagship training project is also being offered at the Fairview Wine and Cheese Estate for farm owners and operators.

Gelderblom called on farmers or communities that have facilities that could be used for agricultural training, to contact the Elsenburg Agricultural Training College.

Gelderblom also came out in strong support of the community cultivating vegetable gardens to fight poverty.

He referred to a former gangleader, Danny Arends, who was now taking the lead cultivating a vegetable garden on the soccer field of Nederburg Primary in Paarl.

"The vegetable garden has helped the fight against gangsterism, as well as break-ins and vandalism at the school," said Gelderblom.

He told the agricultural community that the country's only future is in listening to one another's problems and in finding solutions together.

"We live in a time where it makes no sense to form laagers and fight about small differences.

"It makes sense to agree that we have different opinions, but that we have to find a road where we live together in peace for the better future of our children."

Gelderblom praised the Drakenstein farmers for generating a total annual income of R337 million (2,9 percent of the Western Cape agricultural income), whilst cultivating only 0,14 percent of the Western Cape farming land.

AWARDED by the export market, African Terroir wines have now been introduced to the local market.

African Terroir was born in 1991 under the name of Savisa when the 130ha wine farm Sonop near Paarl was purchased. 

Between 1991 and 1998, the company entered into long-term wine and grape agreements with Diemersdal, Kersfontein, Engelbrecht, Houmoed, Müller and Cilmour. 

To add to the company's achievements, African Terroir has four cellars firmly pegged onto its structure: Cilmour Winery (Worcester), Diemersdal Cellar (Durbanville), Sonop Winery and African Terroir Cellar (Paarl), which will be strictly organic. 

The group is well established on the export market, producing its own brands such as Azania, Out of Africa, Diemersdal, Milton Grove, Tribal, Big 5 and Organic Wines, just to name a few.

These wines and others under the African Terroir brand can now be enjoyed locally.

Winds of Change

One of Sonop Wine Farm's first projects was "Winds of Change".  As the motto stated in 1996, African Terroir (Pty) Ltd decided to start a Communal Property Association for its workforce.

Between African Terroir, Western Wines and numerous clients and retailers in the UK, a commitment stating that for every bottle sold, a percentage would be placed back into the trust for the workers to be used for the upliftment of the basic standards, as well as development and training.

"From every bottle sold under the Winds of Change trade name, the farm workers will benefit as shareholders to help build a new and better South Africa."

A portion of 10,5ha was sold to the workers at Sonop, which they renamed Mountain View, making them landowners. Here they grow their own grapes, which are sold to African Terroir. 

African Terroir strives to work in close proximity with its workers and prove by means of the "Winds of Change" project, that the company sincerely wants to be a part of the upliftment and future of South Africa, says MD Sebastien Dayer.

THE Laborie wine estate has launched a new premium wine, Jean Taillefert, marking the culmination of the renaissance of this estate in Paarl.

The wine, made exclusively from Shiraz grapes, encapsulates Laborie's rich history dating from 1691, when French Huguenot Jean Taillefert acquired the property

He  planted it to vines and crafted wines of surpassing quality that were favourably compared with the "small wines of Champagne".

The wine was matured in new 300 litre American oak barrels for 12 months which has imparted cassis, chocolated and coffee aromas with a spicy flavour that provides a lingering aftertaste.

Great care was taken with the vinification process and the grapes were pressed at optimum ripeness.

Winemaker Gideon Theron describes this wine, presented in an elegant claret bottle, as "Laborie's ultimate wine."

He says that "Jean Taillefert represents the crowning achievement in 300 years of wine production on Laborie."

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