|
A Barrel of Wine, Life and Laughs 
Few things can evoke images of romance, prosperity and life in the way that a glass of fine wine can. For most people, the idea of one day having their own wine farm, growing noble cultivars and making fine wines, is one of utter bliss and contentment which unfortunatly for most remains nothing more than a dream. Strolling through lines of ancient looking vines heavy with rich, plump berries at the crack of dawn will definitely rate amongst the top 50 things most people woud want to do before they die. The smell of damp, fertile earth mingling with that of the grapes while a cool breeze caresses you face is enough to move even the most ambitious among us to long for a simpler life...
Unfortunately, the scenario sketched above is accessable to only a
select few...or has been until now. The Nelson Wine Estate located in
Paarl, has launched an incentive which will give an opportunity to
those who share their passion for wine to become an integral part of
the harvest in 2010. The incentive will also be used to the benefit of
several charities (mainly breastcancer related) both in Paarl and
nationwide.
The incentive was launched at the Estate on Saturday, 18 October 2008,
when Alan Nelson donated a brand new barrel of award-winning wine
produced by Lisha Nelson, the new winemaker on the estate, to be
auctioned off for the benefit of the Tempations Journey of Hope
Breastcancer Ride 2008. The bidding on the barrel was opened on the
evening and will only close at the end of January 2010, just prior to
the commencement of the harvest. The thing that distinguishes this from
other auctions however, is the fact that the company or indiviual who
puts up the winning bid will, in addition to gaining a barrel of superb
wine, be in for a real treat. They will be invited to join the Nelson
family for the 2010 harvest. They will join in the spirit of the
harvest by picking grapes with the estate staff, taking the grapes
through the production process and ultimately assisting Lisha with the
process of actually producing the 2010 wines on the estate. The wine
purchased by them through the auction will be carefully matured in the
barrel under the watchful eye of an award-winning winemaker for a
period of two years, whereafter the estate will assist them with the
bottling and labelling of their own unique barrel of wine.
For companies, this incentive represents a fantastic opportunity to get
the whole team involved and to ultimately take part in a teambuilding
exercise that money can't buy. Each member of staff can be given an
option to buy a share of the bid in order to secure a bottle (or six!!)
of this wine. It needs to be said that the wine in the barrel, a 2008
Cabernet Franc, was adjudged the South African Champion Cabernet Franc,
South African Champion Other Red Cultivar and the overall Runner-up
wine in South Africa at this year's South African Young Wine Show.
Wine has the power to move people. Robert Louis Stevenson wrote: “Wine is Bottled Poetry". W.B. Yeats wrote the following poem:
Wine comes in at the mouth
And love comes in at the eye;
That's all we shall know for truth
Before we grow old and die.
I lift the glass to my mouth,
I look at you, and I sigh. Highest bid as at 23 October 2008: R11,000.00 The Nelson Wine Estate's Barrel incentive aims at giving people a once
in a lifetime dream opportunity while at the same time fulfilling the
very real needs of its community.For further info, please contact Jack
Kukard at the Nelson Wine Estate on (021) 869 8453. |
News & Articles 
