Zevenwacht wine estate celebrates ‘conservation champion’ status

The Zevenwacht Wine Estate celebrated being recognised as a conservation champion on Thursday May 29.

It was awarded World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Conservation Champion Status on Friday May 16, and has signed a five-year conservation agreement to continue their commitment to preserving the Bottelary Hills region.

The wine estate is a family-run farm which Denise Johnson and her late husband Harold bought in 1992. 

“More than 80 hectares of the farm comprises natural veld that mostly consists of critically endangered Swartland Granite Renosterveld. We have always loved sharing the farm with the people who live in and visit our area,” said Ms Johnson.

They also founded the Bottelary Hills Renosterveld Conservancy (BHRC) in the same year as they bought the farm. This was registered as a non-profit organisation in 2008.

According to BHRC manager Christel Liebenberg, the field stretches across 6 800 hectares, of which 1 600 hectares (23%) is natural veld. The mission of the BHRC is to care, expand and sustain the large tracts of Renosterveld fynbos in its area. 

Conservation efforts in the BHRC include alien invasive clearing, fighting the illegal harvesting of endangered Renosterveld fynbos, recycling, youth development and regular snare patrols.

Attendees at the celebration event were treated to wine tasting and a workshop was conducted by the partners of the BHRC. These partners included Discover Renosterveld and Cape Leopard Trust. 

The wine estate and cellar had to achieve a minimum of 70% on their Integrated Production of Wine (IPW) official audit to be awarded WWF Conservation Championship Status. 

Strong emphasis is placed on biodiversity, water and energy preservation and conservation. 

The efficient use of water irrigation systems, water recycling, protection of water and the use of renewable energy will need to be incorporated in the annual plan of operation that WWF reviews annually.

Zevenwacht Wine Estate has solar panels on their cellar roof, uses mulch in their vineyards and continues to support the BHRC in their conservation efforts, like snare patrols and as a donor to the Renosterveld rewilding project.

The extension officer at WWF South Africa Conservation Champions program, Dwayne Brecht, said the farm will now be able to include their stickers and logo in their products and will have access to their marketing platforms in the international markets.