Delheim
Wines of the Simonsberg Ward in Stellenbosch, South Africa, was one
of the first wine farms to become a Biodiversity
and Wine Initiative (BWI) member. Having now introduced its
sophisticated waste water management plan on the farm, Delheim has
been certified
a BWI Champion and is the seventh SA wine farm to achieve this
status.
To qualify as a champion, a BWI member must develop a Conservation
Management Plan for approval by the BWI and, then demonstrate
and prove that it has implemented
key scheduled activities within the plan. Champions must have had a minimum
two-year track record of good conservation practice and, once awarded Championship
status, must present tangible results of their commitment to biodiversity conservation
regularly.
Delheim has installed a highly sophisticated
water purification system to recycle all the water on the farm – from
its cellar, the restaurant, the residences and all the farm buildings – and
this recycled water provides irrigation for the vineyards
and residential gardens. Instead of using insecticides to control
aphids
in the vineyards, Delheim uses parasites to control them naturally.
Delheim
family owners, the Sperlings have also always been fond of trees.
Spatz Sperling plants indigenous
trees on the farm to mark every significant family occasion.
And on Klapmutskop
Conservancy, which was established by Delheim in 2004, a 300-year
old yellowwood was discovered and is recorded as the oldest
tree in an indigenous yellowwood forest in the country. South
Africa’s
national tree – the Silver tree – occurs naturally at
Delheim and there is a pair of breeding Blue Cranes (our national
bird) on the farm. Fish eagles are seen and heard regularly
at Delheim.
Nora Sperling-Thiel says: “We’ve
been farming this land for many years and we understand how
important it is to put back what you take out. We owe it to
the land and to
the wine industry to cherish our environment. We are committed
to living up to our new Championship status.”
Here is a link to a short film about Delheim's water recycling and purification
initiative:
[Delheim
Waste-Water Project]
Notes:
1. Delheim recently won the Sustainable Wine Tourism Practices Award Great
Wine Capitals Global Network Best of Wine Tourism Awards.
2. The Biodiversity and Wine Initiative (BWI) won a 2007Cape Times Environment
Award, giving recognition to the conservation work that wine farms are now
doing – individually and collectively.
3. The Klapmutskop Conservancy, which was the Cape Fox 2007 winner for the
best managed conservancy, has now been extended by three and half times its
original size to include Muratie, Delheim (the main farm), Quoin Rock, Knorhoek,
Kanonkop, Uitkyk, Rustenberg, Thelema and Marklew. A Biodiversity Information
Centre has been established at Delvera, which is the hub for the Klapmutskop
Conservancy. This centre helps to create awareness among visitors about conservation
management – anything from bio-control to waste water management and
recycling.
More info visit the Delheim and Nature
section on the web page
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