Feather in La Motte’s cap
A top fine-dining restaurant, an art gallery, world-class wines and vineyards with sustainable viticultural practices – these are just a few of the reasons that La Motte in Franschhoek was voted the South African winner of the Great Wine Capitals (GWC) Best of Wine Tourism Awards for 2012. A celebration was held at the estate last week, following the announcement of the awards in Mainz, Germany on October 27. GWC is a network of the world’s leading wine-producing countries whose aim is to improve standards in wine tourism.
André Morgenthal of Wines of South Africa (WOSA), who has been involved in the awards for the past 10 years, told Bolander that in considering the awards, judges assess the overall wine experience that the establishment has to offer. “The awards are thus important for South Africa,” he said, “as they add value to our wine industry.
Mr Morgenthal says that there are nine regions worldwide that take part in the awards, and visiting them, as he has done annually, showed that South Africa compared “most favourably” with the rest of the world.
“We are up there with the best,” he told Bolander, adding, “in all categories that the awards were judged we showed we are very organised when it comes to service.”
”In addition, the beauty of our winelands and architecture of the wineries is definitely world class.”
Apart from La Motte’s overall Best of Wine Tourism award, the estate was also voted winner in the category Arts and Culture; second runner-up in Sustainable Wine Tourism Practices; second runner-up in Architecture and Landscapes; and third runner-up in the category Innovative Wine Tourism Experiences.
A jubilant Chris Erasmus, chef at the acclaimed Pierneef a la Motte restaurant, told Bolander that the award was not only important for the estate but for tourism as a whole. “It’s certainly a feather in our cap, and also for the winelands as a whole.”
As the title holder for 2012, La Motte is in good company, joining iconic names in wine such as Spain’s Bodegas Campo Viejo of Rioja, acclaimed for its wine and architecture; the 13th century Château d´Agassac of Bordeaux in France; the 900 year-old Dievole of Florence, Italy; Quinta do Portal, representing four estates in the Douro, Portugal; the lofty Bodega Atamisque, 1 300 metres above sea level at the entrance to the Uco Valley in Mendoza, Argentina; and specialty boutique guides, Appellation Central Wine Tours of Christchurch, New Zealand.
GWC’s members, in addition to Cape Town-Cape Winelands, include Mainz-Rheinhessen (Germany), Bilbao-Rioja (Spain), Bordeaux (France), Florence (Italy), Mendoza (Argentina), Porto (Portugal), San Francisco-Napa (United States) and New Zealand’s Christchurch.
Hein Koegelenberg, CEO of La Motte commented the award of the estate which he owns with Hanneli Rupert-Koegelberg: “While our major focus has always been the production of exceptional wines for the local as well as international markets, this award … is a great inspiration to us in our dedication to a culture of excellence over a broader spectrum”.
Contributing to La Motte's attraction as a wine tourism destination and its achievement in the GWC competition, is the comprehensive experience it offers – a heritage spanning over three centuries, architecture that successfully blends the old with the new, the museum, housing a collection of works by South African master Jacob Hendrik Pierneef (“Pierneef comes full circle, Bolander, October 6, 2010) and a hiking route to showcase the farms Biodiversity Champion Status.
Other winners in the Boland included Delaire (accommodation), Waterkloof (architecture and landscape), Solms Delta (innovative wine tourism experiences), Waverley Hills (sustainable wine torusim practices) and Tokara (wine tourism restaurants).
Written by Orielle Berry You are reading Feather in La Motte’s cap articles
