For the past four years, the Cape Cooperage Group has donated
barrels to every second- year CWG Protégé. Their commitment to continue their
support ensures that current and
future Protégés will have the opportunity to experiment with their own
wines. Other annual sponsors supporting this initiative are Consol
Glass, Amorim Cork and CDS Vintec who donate the bottles, corks and capsules
for the Protégé wines.
“We
are proud to be a partner in the Guild’s Protégé Programme by helping these
young winemakers fulfil their potential and to see the transformation of the
wine industry come to fruition one barrel at a time,” says André Kotze,
Managing Director of the Cape Cooperage Group.
This year, three second-year Protégés will be making their own wines.
Wade Sander will fulfil his dream of crafting his own Pinot Noir from two
particular vineyard blocks under the expert guidance of Peter Finlayson of
Bouchard Finlayson in the Hemel and Aarde Valley.
“The style will be a dry table wine that reflects the terroir of
where the grapes came from. To
achieve this I will be using a lightly toasted French oak barrel that will
complement and accentuate the natural flavours of the wine,” says Wade who is
very grateful to Cape Cooperage for their generosity and expert advice.
Ricardo
Cloete who is working alongside Charles Hopkins at De Grendel this year, is
making a Pinotage, a personal favourite because of its wonderful aromas,
flavours and above all, because it is proudly South African.
“I am very excited to
see the results of the oak influence on the wine after a few months of barrel
maturation. It will be interesting to see how this wine will age and change
over time in the barrel,” says Ricardo.
Thornton Pillay who
is working with Boela Gerber at Groot Constantia has opted for a natural sweet,
wooded Muscadel.
“Motivated by
what appears to be a lack of attention to sweet wine and the realisation that
curry complements these wines, I hope to produce a natural sweet wine of great
elegance and finesse. This will most certainly be a challenging task but it is
my hope that people will be able to taste the love and passion that went into
making it and that my wine will give people pleasure,” says Thornton.
When it comes to
selecting the right barrel to best attain the desired style and flavour profile
of their wines, all three Protégés have worked very closely with Cape
Cooperage. Types of oak and the degree of toasting have all been carefully
considered to enable each Protégé to work with hand selected barrels that will
produce the best results.
The production of their own wine forms
part of the Protégés’ three-year mentorship programme. Protégés are required to
prepare budgets, production plans and marketing proposals for the wines they
produce, in order to experience the entire process. The wines will be auctioned
during their final internship year at Gala Dinners in Johannesburg and Cape
Town and at the Silent Auction that takes place at the annual Nedbank Cape
Winemakers Guild Auction. The funds raised are ploughed back into the Protégé
Programme to support the development of future winemakers.
Established in 2006 under the auspices of the Nedbank Cape Winemakers Guild
Development Trust, the Protégé Programme gives aspirant winemakers the rare
opportunity of working side by side with members of the Guild. By cultivating,
nurturing and empowering promising individuals to become winemakers of
excellence, the Cape Winemakers Guild Protégé Programme plays an active role in
the transformation of the industry to ensure its long term health and sustainability.
Guild members, all masters of their craft, are responsible for mentoring their protégés for a year and providing them with essential
hands-on skills and experience in the art of winemaking.
For more information on the
Guild, contact Tel: 021 852 0408 or send an email to info@capewinemakersguild.com.
Students interested in applying for the Protégé Programme can visit the Guild’s
website at www.capewinemakersguild.com.