Wine with roots in the community

Monday, 4 September, 2017
Bonnievale Wines
The wine industry is a significant contributor to the South African economy and has been the livelihood of thousands of families for centuries. Go deeper and you’ll also discover that the roots of wineries in their communities go even deeper, especially in Bonnievale.

At Bonnievale Wines, it’s not all about work. Every end of year for example, Bonnievale Wines rewards its most productive cellar workers at a prize-giving. The event is followed up with an excursion that in recent years has included a trip to the sea and Table Mountain. At this same time of the year, Bonnievale Wines also hosts a yearly Christmas market as a fund-raiser for the village’s Herfsvreugde retirement home.

Throughout the year however, various community organisations and initiatives see the winery become an ad-hoc supporter. “Wine has always been foremost about people - from harvest to the glass,” says Bonnievale Wines CEO John Barnardt. “It’s an important principle that we embrace as part of our business and as part of our community.”