Vineyard Friends connects the consumer with nature and the sustainable practices that underpin its wine making principles. Comprising 4 fantastic wines, this new brand is vegan and vegetarian friendly, 100% GMO free, packaged in recycled and fully recyclable bottles, closures and labels — the culmination of two decades of practical response to environmental challenges and the result of a myriad of sustainable practices.

Meet the Vineyard Friends

Heroed in its name and design, Vineyard Friends is dedicated to the unique animals of the Cape Winelands that make the precious vineyards their home: the Grey Duiker, the Cape Grey Mongoose, the Bat Eared Fox and the Grey Heron. These intelligent creatures don’t just live in the vineyards, each animal plays an integral role in the lifecycle of the vineyard, from maintaining soil health to removing pests — limiting the need for pesticides, ultimately resulting in healthier harvests.

Vineyard Friends underpins the motto of farming side-by-side with nature — not against it.

The vineyards themselves, make use of water-saving cover crops, while the cellar facilities make use of bio-treated grey water in all ablutions and gardens, thus drastically reducing the use of potable water. Additionally, an anaerobic process releases clean water into the local municipality and supports the community with 50 million precious litres of irrigation water reclaimed per year, to provide the vineyards with the water they require to thrive.

Sustainable Winemaking

The Vineyard Friends cellar in Wellington has the largest solar photovoltaic energy installation of any wine production facility in South Africa. An 801 KW roof array of 2400 panels not only offsets 1265 tonnes of potential CO2 emissions, but also produces clean, surplus energy to be fed into the grid of the neighbouring town and its communities.

Sustainable winemaking is a team effort. It’s about maintaining the delicate balance between flora, fauna and the human hand.

Despite all of these interventions, the creators of Vineyard Friends know that the journey to sustainability never ends and that the environmental impact of winemaking still remains. That is why a community-led bamboo growing carbon reduction project runs in parallel with the work in the vineyards, the production facilities and on the bottle itself. It is also why there is a continuous commitment to innovating sustainable practices and maintaining world class certifications across ethics and environment.

Sustainable winemaking is a team effort. It’s about maintaining the delicate balance between flora, fauna and the human hand. After all, great wine is made in the vineyard, and Vineyard Friends underpins the motto of farming side-by-side with nature — not against it — so that their wines can be enjoyed today, tomorrow, and for generations to come.

For more information please email or call at 021 864 5300.

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