Cork gives boost to Cape winemakers

Natural cork producer Amorim has stepped up its support for the Cape Winemakers Guild Protégé Programme, a mentorship scheme for young winemakers in South Africa.

Mahalia Matshete, a first year Protégé, with Joachim Sá of Amorim Cork and Louis Strydom, winemaker at Ernie Els Wines.

The new sponsorship deal will see Amorim give the programme a 0.5% cut from all sales of its cork products to members of the CWG during 2015.

The company had already been supporting the mentorship initiative for the last four years by donating cork closures for wines made by the protégés in their second year of the programme.

Joaquim Sá, managing director of Amorim Cork South Africa, said of this latest agreement: “As an international company committed to adding value to wine and its image, Amorim shares the values of excellence and quality embodied by the Cape Winemakers Guild. These shared values are underscored by the fact that by far the majority of wines made under the CWG label are closed with natural cork.”

Through this partnership, Sá outlined a mission “to assist in developing and nurturing the talent within the South African wine industry which will further contribute to its reputation of excellence and diversity in all aspects.”

Louis Strydom, chairman of the Nedbank Cape Winemakers Guild Development Trust, welcomed the move as putting the Protégé Programme “at the forefront of a successful and innovative future for winemaking in South Africa.”