Somerset West is beaming with pride after the majestic Vergelegen Wine Estate bagged two wins in the prestigious 2022 Great Wine Capitals Best of Wine Tourism Awards – for its landscape and architecture, and sustainable wine tourism experiences.
“We’re absolutely delighted with these accolades, as the past 18 months have been extremely tough for all of us in the wine and hospitality industries,” said Vergelegen MD Wayne Coetzer.
“The awards recognise the hard work, resourcefulness and dedication of our staff. As more people prepare to travel again, we hope this recognition will encourage locals and tourists to put Vergelegen on their must-visit lists,” he adds.
The awards recognises innovation and excellence in wine tourism in the 11 greatest wine regions of the world and celebrates the commitment of leading wine estates, while providing travellers with a great reference list of outstanding estates to visit.
Catherine Leparmentier Dayot, MD Great Wine Capitals Global Network, said: “The quality of the wine tourism offer in the Western Cape wine regions is a credit to the tourism industry as a whole in South Africa.
“I would also like to congratulate the winners for their sustainable practices, an example for the whole world while the wine industry, all over the globe, is working hard to implement solutions to mitigate their impact on the environment.”
The winners were announced at a ceremony in Hermanus on October 12.
Founded in 1700, Vergelegen was named a Provincial Heritage Site in 2019, which formally recognised it as a treasure trove of history, culture, architecture and horticulture. This declaration protects its historic core, which includes a beautifully restored homestead and complementary buildings, surrounded by 18 extensive gardens, with some of the oldest recorded trees in the country.
The Octagonal Garden is a sight to behold and is the original horticultural area, with herbaceous borders, colourful annuals and the David Austin rose garden. The stunning Reflection Garden has mostly white blooms and two formal ponds, while the East Garden incorporates a maze of non-fruit bearing vines, an agapanthus collection of 14 000 plants, and an oak arboretum.
Several winter-blooming camellia trees comprise the country’s first and only International Camellia Garden of Excellence, while the Fynbos Garden at the wine cellar offers 360 degree views of the picturesque mountains and valleys.
Fun fact: Vergelegen was the first South African Biodiversity and Wine Initiative Champion in 2005, having made remarkable progress with its large-scale alien vegetation clearing programme. This was completed in 2018, resulting in 1900 hectares declared a private nature reserve.
Visitors can learn more about this sustainability journey on Vergelegen’s guided environmental tour, viewing bontebok, indigenous Nguni cattle, an abundance of fynbos and, at times, eland.
The estate is self-reliant for all its water needs, with the vegetable garden supplying the restaurants, and providing donations to local community kitchens. Meat and fish are supplied by independent producers noted for locally- sourced, ethically-raised meat and fish.
Vergelegen is open from Monday-Sunday.
Time: 8:30am-5pm (last entry 4pm).
Entrance: R10/adults, R5/pensioners and scholars. Find out more on www.vergelegen.co.za.
To book environmental, heritage and garden, vineyard and cellar tours, contact the Wine Tasting Centre at 021 847 2122 or find out more about Vergelegen experiences at https://vergelegen.co.za/experiences/.
Have a look at the winners over here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnlB05GATBg.
Picture/s: Supplied