Vergelegen was the first South African Biodiversity and Wine Initiative Champion (2005) and sustainability remains central to all its activities.
At the heart of Vergelegen’s multiple biodiversity initiatives is an alien vegetation clearing project, begun in 1995, the largest privately funded programme of its kind in South Africa.
This culminated in the promulgation of a 1900 hectare reserve with the same protection status as the world-famous Kruger National Park.
The public experiences the reserve and learn about its environmental heritage through guided environmental tours in a game drive vehicle. Clearing has resulted in environmental regeneration:
- The bird population has grown from 50 species in 2000 to 146.
- Vergelegen welcomed 10 rare bontebok 15 years ago, now 95 antelope.
- Five eland were released at Vergelegen in 2020 as part of the Gantouw Project, which researches how grazing animals boost ecosystem diversity. The first eland calf was born in April this year.
- The estate has participated since 2022 in an ambitiousproject to achieve a breeding lineage of Burchell’s zebra (Equus quagga burchellii) which visually resemble the extinct quagga (Equus quagga quagga). Three youngsters have been born at the estate.
- Vergelegen enlarged its game enclosure this year from 180-Ha to 400-Ha.
- The estate is a long-serving participant in the Cape Leopard Trust. Five different leopard have been photographed at the estate.
Leafroll virus: Vergelegen is a world leader in combating grapevine leafroll-associated virus 3 (GLRaV-3), the main cause of leafroll disease, spread by mealybugs. The team planted new vineyards in former citrus orchards and replaced badly infected red wine cultivar vineyards The estate now has the oldest white wine vineyards in the world that are virtually virus-free.
Biological controls: The estate has shifted to biological control of mealybugs. Predatory indigenous insects are dispersed by drone over vineyards. The first stage is predatory wasps, attracted by a pheromone released by female mealybugs, followed by ladybugs, which eat the mealybugs.
Fairtrade member: Vergelegen is a supporter of Fairtrade, which promotes better wine prices, decent working conditions and a fairer deal for farmers and staff.
Shothole borer beetle: Vergelegen was the site of a three-year programme to research the destructive polyphagous shot hole borer beetle. The estate is planting 1000 trees annually to replace those lost to the beetle and wind. To date 700 trees have been planted in 2024.
Reducing carbon emissions: Vergelegen tracks and manages its carbon emissions as a member of Confronting Climate Change (CCC), a carbon footprinting project The estate’s emissions are low enough to act as an industry benchmark for the CCC and South Africa.
Reducing, reusing and recycling is implemented at the winery, hospitality offerings, gardens and staff accommodation. Materials such as plastic, paper, glass, corks, cans, cooking oils and motor oils are collected. Grape skins and stems are composted after harvest and used in vineyards as organic fertilizer.
Vergelegen is self-sufficient in all water requirements, from vineyards to hospitality. Water is filtered and treated by an on-site water treatment.
With 2010 as base year, by end-2019 Vergelegen achieved 30% reduction in cellar water usage by:
- Coating all floor surfaces, resulting in less water used for cleaning.
- Fitting sieves on drains with permanent covers so no solid materials washed down.
- Hot water timed/set programme to wash barrels, reducing water usage.
Solar power: The winery installed a solar power plant in 2023 taking it completely off the grid. It has six solar tables, comprising 500 panels, covering 1400m². At the management offices, 40 roof-mounted solar panels were installed in 2024, generating 26 kilowatts of power.
Read More: https://vergelegen.co.za/sustainability/