DON TOOTH AND MICHAEL SPICER

ENVIRONMENTAL EXCELLENCE IN THE MAKING

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Applauded for the quality of its wines and acclaimed for preserving as a living heritage its beautiful homestead and grounds, Vergelegen can rightly lay claim to be South Africas premier estate. What is less well-known are the initiatives that Vergelegen is undertaking on a broad environmental and sustainable development front to ensure that this gracious property, which is open to the public, is preserved for the benefit of both the future generations of visitors and of the growing population of the estates neighbouring communities.

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and international visitors alike, who revelled in being able to roam the property at will. This South African flagship property now enjoys an international reputation as being comparable to any estate in the world, while, in less than 15 years, the wines produced on the estate have gained recognition as being right at the pinnacle of South African viticultural achievement. In keeping with Rellys idea that Anglo American should be the custodian of this unique piece of HEN THE CAPES 9TH GOVERNOR, Willem Adriaan van der Stel, granted himself Vergelegen (Dutch for situated far away) on 1 February 1700, he did so with a vision of creating an estate that would not only showcase Africa, but also match the greatest estates of Europe. Van der Stels controversial style of governorship and questionable business practices, however, brought him into conflict with both his peers and the directors of the Dutch East India Company back in Amsterdam. Consequently, he was stripped of his lands and position in 1706, and forced to return to Holland in 1708 never to return. The lands were sub-divided and sold off, and the grand vision effectively put on hold as the 3,000 hectares (c.7,400 acres) of lands that now comprise Vergelegen tumbled through a series of owners. It was only in the 20th century that the renaissance of this historic farm began Sir Lionel and Lady Phillips acquiring the property in 1917, with the Barlow family owning the estate from 1941 to 1987. It was in 1987 that Anglo Americans then chairman Gavin Relly, realising that this national treasure needed to be preserved for the benefit of the nation, and having the vision of its becoming Africas greatest wine estate, convinced Anglo Americans board to buy the property. In agricultural terms, the 3,000-hectare estate, nestling between the Helderberg and Hottentots Holland mountains near Somerset West
Page 32: THE VERGELEGEN PANORAMA backed by the Hottentots Holland mountains, with the winery in the middle ground 34
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South Africas heritage, to which the public would have frequent and regular access, Vergelegen was to play its part in Anglos own efforts to help build a new South Africa. As early as 1991, soon after Nelson Mandelas release from prison, the homestead hosted the recently unbanned ANC for a crucial Executive meeting beginning a relationship with Nelson Mandela that was to see him, when he became South Africas president three years later, hosting several official and private functions at Vergelegen, including the State Reception and Banquet for President Clinton. His successor President Mbeki and many of his Cabinet ministers are regular visitors at a variety of functions. The estate has also hosted Queen Elizabeth II and other European royalty, as well as many distinguished political leaders from around the world, including most recently Chinas vice-president Zeng Qinghong. However, while the wines were securing premier status and the homestead and gardens were being lauded for the exemplary way in which South Africas Cape Dutch past was being preserved as a living heritage, the third cornerstone to this magnificent estate, its natural and environmental heritage, had tended to lag behind in both progress and recognition. Mindful of this, Anglo Americans chairman at the time, Julian Ogilvie Thompson, during his speech in 2000 at Vergelegens tercentenary celebration, reaffirmed the companys commitment in supporting a key goal of Vergelegens Environmental Trust: that at least a third of the property be transformed into a pristine example of the Capes natural heritage, a vision that had been articulated for some time by Anglo American Farms chairman Michael Spicer. With this commitment in hand,

some 50 kilometres from Cape Town, rapidly gained recognition for its viticultural capability. At the same time, both the elegantly refurbished homestead and grounds, including the 300 year old camphor trees, became a must see for local

what is a long-term sustainable development project, integrating a number of complementary activities, commenced. Among its primary objectives are combating alien plant infestation, creating employment with skills transfer, and nurturing the return of the natural vegetation of the area, fynbos, with accompanying indigenous bird and animal life, and improved water run-off to neighbouring communities. Fynbos is the smallest floral kingdom in the world, but despite its size, it contains the largest number of plant species of any kingdom. One of the possible sources of the name is ascribed to the Dutch settlers, who required timber for building purposes but found the timber in the Cape was far too slender or fine for harvesting and gave it the name of fijnbosch, meaning fine (delicate) wood. In broad terms, fynbos is a natural scrub vegetation with an unusual mixture of plant types of varying shapes, sizes and forms and can range from ground-level shrubs to three-metre-high proteoids. The Cape Floral Kingdom hosts some 8,600 species by comparison, the British Isles, which is three and a half times larger, hosts only 1,500 species. Fynbos is capable of thriving in summer droughts on soils with low nutrients and uses fire as an

essential method of regeneration. The plants themselves offer little nutritional value and this was probably one of the main reasons fynbos flourished until the arrival of the Dutch, who rapidly introduced European-style farming practices that resulted in the transformation of significant areas into pastures and other cultivated lands. Besides the encroachment of agriculture on these previously pristine lands, the development and spreading of towns and cities have also taken their toll. The single greatest threat to fynbos, was, and remains, that of alien or invasive plants. The arrival of European settlers saw the introduction of such plants mainly for fuel, shelter and to Europeanise the landscape. The Cape Flats, which lie between Vergelegen and Cape Town, were notorious for their moving sand dunes during the periods of howling Cape South Easter winds. This area was the initial target during the 1850s for the planting of several of the Australian acacia and wattle species designed to stabilise the dunes. Of these, the Port Jackson and Rooikrans were particularly well adapted to fire and were biologically equipped to deal with sandy and summer-dry conditions. Besides their ability to cope with the Capes natural environment, they

World recognition for excellence

Best producer trophy for the past three consecutive years in the Fairbairn Trophy challenge; The prestigious Chteau Pichon Longueville trophy, announced at Vin Expo in Bordeaux, for the best red blend in the world for the Vergelegen 1998 and 2000 vintages; Voted by internationally acknowledged experts on behalf of Grape magazine as South Africas Best Winery for the last two years; Wine magazines readers poll that adjudged Vergelegen as being South Africas: best producer; best red wine; best white wine; and most beautiful property; More 5-star wines in the bible of South African wine, The John Platter Guide, than any other producer.

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CLEARING ALIEN VEGETATION by conservationist Gerald Wright and his team in the foothills of the Hottentots Holland mountains

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JAMES DICKENSON-BARKER

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Left: VERGELEGENS GRACIOUS HOMESTEAD framed by the 300 year old camphor trees Opposite: CLEARANCE OF 350 HECTARES of alien plant species above Top Dam is targeted for completion by the end of 2006
JAMES DICKENSON-BARKER

had no natural predators to attack their seed base or leaves and within a short space of time they had spread throughout the Cape Peninsula. The infestation today spreads as far as Port Elizabeth some 800 kilometres away. Many of the descendants of the original farmers who had been supplied with bags of Rooikrans seeds now have to wage an environmental battle to regain their lost fynbos. So successful has this invasion been that more than 750 species of plant face extinction a threat that is unparalleled in any other plant kingdom in the world. At Vergelegen the full extent of this threat was recognised after a major fire in 1997, driven by 160 kilometre an hour winds, swept through the property. The existing environmental management plan recognised that the alien
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vegetation would more than double as a result of the fire and seriously set back all of the previous environmental goals achieved. Slow but steady progress was made over the ensuing years and the estate began to gain acknowledgement for its environmental efforts. When Tony Trahar became chief executive at Anglo American in July 2000, the vision and goals of the estate were revisited and given further impetus. It was acknowledged that not only could a project for the rehabilitation of the natural environment of Vergelegen significantly complement both Anglo and Vergelegens sustainable development goals, but the potential also existed for it to become a platform acting as a base from which students (primary, secondary and tertiary) and environmental practitioners

JAMES DICKENSON-BARKER

could learn and experiment. Out of these lessons would come ways and means of cost-effectively combating the alien infestation, lessons that could be passed on to other farming areas through the multitude of students that would pass through the estate. More importantly, the opportunity would exist to conduct an outreach programme to share with young learners, from diverse backgrounds, an important part of their cultural and environmental heritage. This concept led to the development of a ten-year environmental plan with the goal of returning Vergelegens non-arable lands to a
THE AUTHORS Don Tooth is managing director and Michael Spicer chairman of the board of Anglo American Farms

achieve this, a number of opportunities and sub-goals are being pursued: The creation of a Centre of Learning Excellence; Promotion of black economic empowerment principles; A structured outreach programme; and An opportunity to benefit the surrounding communities. With the aid of Vergelegens Environmental Trust, the concept of establishing a Centre of Learning Excellence was developed. The intention is to establish a learning and experimental facility in conjunction with the six tertiary educational institutions of the Western Cape that offer environmental education. Currently, there are several students, from undergraduate to post-doctoral, conducting
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pristine example of Cape fynbos. This is the second-largest project in the Western Cape after the Table Mountain/Cape Peninsula project and certainly the largest private project. In order to

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important environmental research. Several experimental studies are under way and the outcomes could be of great value in the Capes war on alien vegetation. The execution of the exciting ten-year plan is being guided by Gerald Wright, an independent conservationist with years of experience, and frustration, in combating alien infestation. With the aid of Vergelegens management, he has developed a team of people from the local communities that is setting new standards for productivity in environmental work. The working group has been crafted into a stand-alone business which employs more than 30 people. A major benefit of reducing alien infestation is the increased flow of water. Alien vegetation, depending on species and size, has been shown to use 50 to 800 times more water than fynbos. The Cape has experienced water shortages for many years now and this, combined with an increasing population in local communities, could result in serious problems for the estate. Early results from the first years work in clearing alien infestation give considerable encouragement that the increased water flow will go a long way to addressing the needs both of the farm and of neighbouring communities. While no obvious solution has presented itself as yet, Vergelegens efforts to reduce the alien population and the resultant increase in water flows from the farm to neighbouring communities are being carefully examined in order to identify how this extra water can be put to good use not just for the estate but for the broader community. As Vergelegen moves closer to realising its original vision, this South African flagship is experiencing an environmental renaissance. Wildlife often the first to sense any form of change is making its presence felt. There have been frequent sightings of a range of exciting birds and animals from the great Black and Fish Eagles to the magnificent Malachite Sunbird in the air while on-the-ground sightings include many species of buck, caracal and recently a regal leopard and her cubs. The estate is well on the way to achieving environmental excellence and sharing its fortunes with communities and colleagues alike.
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FYNBOSS RICH VARIETY: Clockwise from top left: Landroskloof fynbos 138 hectares first cleared in 1997; mimetes cucullatus; erica versicolor; Pincushion luecospermum conocarpodendron

ALAIN PROUST

JAMES DICKENSON-BARKER

ALAIN PROUST

JAMES DICKENSON-BARKER

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