Love wine? Love nature? Weird, us too! Okay, so sharing a fondness for these two subjects is about as common as sharing a fondness for puppies and ice cream. But now you can contribute to the preservation of the latter with your consumption of the former when you purchase wines from the Vondeling Winery in the Voor-Paardeberg region of South Africa.
Vondeling is a member of the wonderfully forward-thinking Biodiversity and Wine Initiative, a coalition between the wine industry and the conservation sector in South Africa. The BWI protects natural habitats by encouraging wineries to farm sustainably. This is particularly crucial in the Cape Floral Kingdom (CFK) which is not only a biodiversity hotbed of over 9000 species of flora and fauna (with more species per square kilometer than just about anywhere else on the planet) but also the home to 95% of South Africa’s vineyards. So you can see why harvesting vineyards harmoniously with nature here is kind of a big deal.
Along this line of thinking Vondeling produces (along with 8 other varietals) an excellent Shiraz blend called Cura, the proceeds of which go directly to the Wildlife and Environmental Society of South Africa. Cura, which means “to care” in Latin, is a velvety blend of 85% Shiraz, 8% Mourvedre, 3% Carignon, 3% Verdot, and 1% Viognier. Whilst you can feel good about purchasing a bottle of Cura, you will (also importantly) quite enjoy drinking a bottle of Cura, with rich blackberry and boysenberry notes intermingling with oak and distinct clove and cinnamon leading to a polished, lush finish. Conserve biodiversity and relish a delicious glass of wine. Vondeling Winery for the win.
