urchin-admin, Author at Lourensford Wine Estate - Helderberg

#SeasonsOfLourensford Competition

urchin-admin — Fri, 03 Mar 2017 12:16:09 +0000

Lourensford is proud to introduce the #SeasonsOfLourensford competition, an Instagram-based campaign inviting members of the public to capture the beauty of the farm as it transforms each season.

All entries received during the year will be judged for the chance to be showcased at the inaugural #SeasonsOfLourensford photographic exhibition, which will run from November 2017 to March 2018. In addition, the photo generating the most public votes on social media per season will win its entrant wine to the value of R1 000, as well as automatic selection for the exhibition.

At the end of the year, a judging panel will select the best photo from all of those on display at the exhibition and its entrant will win the grand prize valued at R5 000.

The Seasons of Lourensford Photographic Exhibition

This inaugural photographic exhibition will showcase the best seasonal images of Lourensford taken by members of the public during the competition period. A panel of judges will choose the images for exhibition from all of the public entries received. The exhibition will also feature the professional works of some of South Africa’s finest Instagram photographers who have collaborated with Lourensford throughout the year.

All of the photos on exhibition (both amateur and professional) will be eligible for winning the grand prize of a Lourensford experience worth R5 000.

How to enter:

The public can enter by uploading an image taken at Lourensford Estate to their personal Instagram account, ensuring they tag @Lourensford in the post and use the hashtags #SeasonsOfLourensford and #LoveLourensford.
Lourensford will choose the 9 best images for each season and repost them on the @Lourensford Instagram feed, calling on the public to comment on their favourite.
Finalists can encourage their followers to vote; only one vote per person will count.
The image that generates the most comments from unique users will win that season’s round. This image will also automatically be selected for the #SeasonsOfLourensford exhibition, where it will stand a chance of winning the grand prize.

The #SeasonsOfLourensford competition seasonal deadlines:

Summer – 7 April 2017
Autumn – 31 May 2017
Winter – 31 August 2017
Spring – 31 October 2017

The Prizes:

All entries received during the year will be judged for the chance to be showcased at the inaugural #SeasonsOfLourensford photographic exhibition, regardless of whether or not they were chosen as the seasonal winner.

Each seasonal winner will receive wine to the value of R1 000 and will have his or her image automatically selected for the #SeasonsOfLourensford exhibition.

All of the photos on exhibition (both amateur and professional) will be eligible to win the grand prize of a one night stay at the Erinvale Hotel and a Lourensford experience, all to the value of R5 000. The grand prize will be awarded to the image judged to be the winner by a judging panel, and will be announced at the exhibition launch in November 2017.

A second and a third place winner will also be selected, each winning a Lourensford experience valued at R3 000 and R1 500 respectively.

Terms & Conditions can be found below. You can also follow news about the campaign on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.

#SeasonsOfLourensford Competition Terms & Conditions

CWP Wine Brands (PTY) Ltd T/A Lourensford (the Promoter or Lourensford), located at Lourensford Wine Estate in Lourensford Road, Somerset West, hereby offers the opportunity to participate in its #SeasonsOfLourensford Photographic Competition (the Competition). By entering the competition you (the Entrant) acknowledge and agree that you are subject to the rules set out below:

Promotional period:

The competition starts on 4 March 2017 and ends on 31 October 2017. The exhibition will be held during November 2017 – March 2018.

How to enter:

The public can enter by uploading an image taken at Lourensford Estate to their Instagram account, tagging @Lourensford and using the following hashtags: #LoveLourensford and #SeasonsOfLourensford. A committee from Lourensford will choose the best images and repost them on the Lourensford Instagram feed calling on the public to comment on which of the images is their favourite. The image that gets the most comments wins wine from Lourensford Estate to the value of R1 000 and will feature in the #SeasonsOfLourensford exhibition in November 2017, where it could win the main prize.

Lourensford will select the year’s best images (including the seasonal winners above), to be printed and exhibited at the #SeasonsOfLourensford photographic exhibition to open in November 2017 and run at the winery until March 2018. All entrants are advised to keep a copy of their original high-resolution images for printing purposes, and finalists will be invited to attend the opening of the exhibition.

A grand winner and runners up will be announced at the event. The grand prize includes a one-night stay at Erinvale and a Lourensford Estate experience, all valued at R5 000. A second and a third place will also be selected on the night, each winning a Lourensford Estate experience valued at R3 000 and R1 500, respectively.

The seasonal competition entry deadlines are as follows:

Summer – 4 March – 7 April 2017
Autumn – 8 April – 31 May 2017
Winter – 1 July – 31 August 2017
Spring – 1 September – 31 October 2017

How the competition works:

At the end of each period a committee from Lourensford Estate will look at the photographs and select winners from the Instagrammers, and finalists from public entries.

The public finalists will be reposted to Lourensford’s Instagram feed as a grid of 9 images and followers will choose their favourite image by commenting on the image they like best. The image with the most likes from unique users will be the winner for that season.

There will be one public winner each season.

A committee from Lourensford will choose the final images for the exhibition and will select the grand prizewinner. All entries will be considered for the exhibition irrespective of whether they have won in the seasonal rounds.

Prizes are not exchangeable or transferrable and cannot be redeemed as cash.

All photographs entered into the competition must be published after the inception of the competition (4 March 2017). Existing images on an entrant’s profile – published prior to 4 March 2017 – will be ineligible for judging.

By entering this competition, a participant(s) authorizes the Promoter to use personal information of entrants for communication purposes.

By entering this competition, participants authorize Lourensford to use the images that they have entered into the competition for marketing purposes including for publication in the media related to the #SeasonsOfLourensford campaign. Where possible the photographer will be acknowledged and receive a picture byline with their image but this cannot be guaranteed.

All winners will be contacted by telephone and in writing via email at which stage the winner may be requested to provide proof of his/her ID, and personal information. If Lourensford or its representatives are unable to reach a potential winner within 96 hours, such a potential winner will be disqualified and a runner up finalist will be deemed the prizewinner subject to the terms and conditions contained herein.

Any fraudulent or false information immediately disqualifies the Entrant from the Competition and Lourensford has a sole and unfettered discretion to disqualify an entry on such basis.

The Judges decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into regarding the decision reached by the Competition Judge.

If for any reason the Promotion is not capable of running as planned for reasons beyond the control of the Promoter, the Promoter reserves the right in its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Promotion.

Any Instagram promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Instagram. You are disclosing your information to Lourensford and not to Instagram. By participating in this promotion you release Instagram from any and all liability in relation to the promotion.

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Lourensford tops energy conservation at Green Awards

urchin-admin — Thu, 08 Dec 2016 08:08:16 +0000

November 2016 – Lourensford Estate in Somerset West, having invested over R7 million to install 686kWp solar photovoltaic (PV) plants on the roof of the winery and the packshed, has been named Best Farming Practice Winner in the Leadership in Energy Conservation category at the Nedbank Green Wine Awards 2016 for the second consecutive year.

The historic farm on the slopes of the Helderberg invests in sustainable energy to reduce electricity costs, with the solar plants contributing an expected carbon emission reduction of 987 tonnes per year. The 500kWh solar plant (3300m2) on the winery roof and the 186kWh solar plant (1300m2) on the packshed roof, generate 2800kWh daily, enough to run the winery with the surplus fed to the grid supplying the rest of the estate.

“Our vision is one where economic stability and environmental sustainability go hand in hand in a profitable partnership,” says Koos Jordaan, GM of Lourensford Estate. “The solar power plant forms part of our sustainable agriculture and conservation programme, which has also seen Lourensford protect about 1200 hectares of Fynbos and plant an extensive Protea farm across 18 hectares.”

Energy Saving in the winery:

Smart metering installed (real-time computerised measuring of electricity usage to guide future practices)
Procedures put into effect regarding the switching on and off of the compressors
Refrigeration chiller software adjusted for more effective energy use
‘Time of use’ communication to staff on ‘red’ expensive times of energy use
Installing energy saving bulbs in the winery

Energy Saving on the broader estate:

All homesteads on the farm have been switched to prepaid electricity
Timers and blankets installed on geysers
Tracker units gathering live data were installed on tractors and farm vehicles to monitor performance and reduce fuel consumption
Inverters installed on pumps to ease start-ups
The farm runs annual Earth Protection Awareness training sessions for all staff

Owned by business mogul Christo Wiese, the Estate has about 100 hectares of vines. Venues and activities include the Millhouse Kitchen Restaurant, a coffee roastery and art gallery. The farm hosts weekend markets, as well as cycling and trail-running events. Follow their progress on the Lourensford website, Facebook, Twitter (@lourensford) and Instagram (@lourensford).

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SA Cellar Worker of the year dreams of becoming a winemaker

urchin-admin — Thu, 08 Dec 2016 07:55:36 +0000

Ivan Xelelo, a senior cellar assistant at Lourensford Wine Estate in Somerset West, has been named SA Cellar Worker of the Year 2016, taking a big step closer to realising his dream of becoming a winemaker.

Xelelo, whose family hail from Elliot in the Eastern Cape, is the first Xhosa speaking winner of the annual competition and has set himself the long term goal of becoming a winemaker.

He was one of 369 cellar workers attending a study group series presented by Winetech and the SA Cellar Worker Programme, which recognise cellar workers valuable contribution to the industry. The top students were selected to take part in a programme sponsored by the VinPro Foundation and underwent a final evaluation, with Xelelo named the overall winner for 2016.

The married father of two, gave special thanks to his winemaker mentors Hannes Nel, Timothy Witbooi, Chris Joubert and Andre van Rensburg.

“We’ve seen Ivan grow since participating in the study groups and programme. He has acquired knowledge and life skills beyond the spectrum of the usual cellar environment, but also gained confidence and a real love for wine,” says Hannes Nel, Cellarmaster at Lourensford.

Xelelo’s parents live on a neighbouring farm where his father works as supervisor in the Forestry department, and he was born in 1986 just down the road in the Hottentots Holland Hospital.

After school he began working at Vergelegen where he completed his National Certificate in Wine Processing before moving to Lourensford for new challenges.

“I enjoy working at Lourensford as I learn something new each day and there are opportunities to grow. My favourite part is working with the red wines: from emptying out the red fermenter, through to the pressing and filling of the barrels,” said Xelelo.

As SA Cellar Worker of the Year 2016, Xelelo will form part of the Circle of Excellence, a programme for further knowledge sharing, mentoring and support.

“Ivan’s big dreams are becoming an assistant winemaker and eventually a winemaker,” says Nel. “At Lourensford we are extremely proud of what he has already achieved and have no doubt that Ivan will realise his dreams, because he definitely has the perseverance!”

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A Golden Year For Lourensford Chardonnay

urchin-admin — Wed, 07 Dec 2016 17:09:50 +0000

2016 has been a golden year for wine at Lourensford Estate in Somerset West, with the Limited Release Chardonnay 2015 and Limited Release White Blend 2012 the estate’s big winners at both local and international wine competitions.

The Limited Release Chardonnay 2015 was one of only 3 SA wines to receive a Grand Gold Medal at Concours Mondial de Bruxelles – only 80 out of 8 750 wines from 50 countries achieved this honour. The Chardonnay was named Best SA White Wine of the Show at the Mundus Vini, Germany. More Gold followed at the International Wine and Spirit Competition, London. It was also ranked one of the Top 100 SA Wines in 2016.

The Limited Release White Blend 2012 harvested Double Gold at the Michelangelo International Wine Awards, Silver in the Museum Class at the Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show and was the Top White Blend (Stellenbosch District) at the SA Terroir Wine Awards. The wine also scored 94 points in the Tim Atkin SA Report 2016.

Another top performer is the Limited Release Viognier 2015, receiving a 4 ½ star rating from the John Platter Wine Guide, a Silver Outstanding at the International Wine and Spirit Competition and named the Top Viognier (Stellenbosch District) at the SA Terroir Wine Awards.

Lovers of bubbles should taste the Lourensford MCC Brut Blanc 2011 awarded Gold at Vitis Vinifera, while the Limited Release Merlot 2013 was ranked among the Top 100 SA Wines and the Lourensford Sauvignon Blanc 2016 got Double Gold at Vitis Vinifera.

Lourensford Cellarmaster, Hannes Nel says it is a very exciting time to be in charge of production at the estate, with the wines picking up top local and international awards. However, the unique and multifaceted terroir of Lourensford Estate meant it has taken 15 years of experimenting with canopy management and other vineyard practices to get the best balance and harmony in the vineyards.

“The cool conditions and influence of the Atlantic Ocean breezes contribute to the low pH and natural high acidity in our wines, ensuring they are complex and layered so can last in bottle,” says Nel. “The Limited Release White blend 2012 and Lourensford MCC Brut Blanc 2011 are great examples.”

Owned by renowned businessman Christo Wiese, Lourensford Estate has about 100 hectares of vines. Venues and activities include the Millhouse Kitchen Restaurant, a coffee roastery and art gallery. Find out more on the website, Facebook, Twitter (@lourensford) and Instagram (@lourensford).

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