Cinsaut blanc, first SA winery to create white wine from red grapes
Cape Town – 180712 – Launched in 2006, the TOPS at SPAR Wine Show has quickly risen to become South Africa’s favourite consumer wine event. Celebrating its 13-year anniversary in 2018, the show has grown consistently year on year. Today, The TOPS at SPAR Wine Show finds itself in five cities across South Africa. From the 12th to the 14th of July visitors can attend the “Winederland” show at the Sun Exhibits area at Grand West. Picture: David Ritchie/African News Agency/ANA
CAPE TOWN – Founded smack bang in the middle of the World War II in 1941, Koelenhof Winery and Bottling emerged from humble beginnings as a family run bulk wine producer and first begun bottling wine in 1974, with the De Vries family at the helm.
Members of the De Vries family continue to play an integral role at the winery, supported by a dedicated team of staff and loyal partners worldwide.
This winery was the first to produce white wine from red grapes, called cinsaut blanc and also first to use a fully automatic pressing cellar needing only one man to run it.
Situated among vineyard-covered slopes 14km outside Stellenbosch in the Western Cape, Koelenhof presses 16 000 tons of grapes every year – the fruit of the labour and commitment of 70 local shareholders.
Koelenhof marketing manager Eugene Kinghorn says the winery and bottling company’s greatest achievement over the past 80 years is that it is a leader in the wine-making industry when it comes to services as well as the home to more than 3 000 people in the wine industry.
Kinghorn says the winery is inspired and motivated by the sustainability of farmers and workers, and of their produce.
“Our long-term strategy is to really support the wine industry by producing excellent quality wines, thus keeping all our farmers sustainable, as well as really becoming a household name in the local market.
“Apart from the wines that we produce, we also offer numerous services to the smaller wine producers, ranging from wine products, bottling, labelling and storage. Our big attribute is that we offer these services with humbleness, and we strive to be the best in what we do,” he says.
Kinghorn says in five years’ time he sees Koelenhof as the household wine in South Africa.
“We recently changed our labels to keep up with the times and trends and we feel that it really has helped us. We are constantly trying new wines and combinations, so be on the lookout for our new 1679 Bushvine Chenin 2017.”
Koelenhof is known for winning many prestigious wine awards but despite earning an enviable array of awards, the winery and bottling company remains humble in spirit.
Recently, Koelenhof received top honours as South Africa’s Best Value Cellar Overall in WINE Magazine’s Best Value Wine Guide. Koelenhof’s own label wines succeed in offering the ever elusive combination of superb quality married with excellent value.
“We strive to always outshine the rest, and have seen the fruits of our hard labour being rewarded 10-fold.
“South Africa is loved for her generous hospitality and unpretentious spirit. It is our vision to capture this character in every bottle of Koelenhof wine – a character to be sampled and savoured time after time,” says Kinghorn.
– BUSINESS REPORT
Source: iol.co.za