Two newly graduated Cape wine masters (CWM) were presented with their diplomas at the annual awards luncheon, hosted by Heineken Beverages at Tangram restaurant at Durbanville Hills Winery on Friday 11 August.
They were awarded by the Cape Wine Academy (CWA) and the Institute of Cape Wine Masters (ICWM), which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. The two new CWMs are Rudolph Steenkamp, a wine and vineyard consultant and co-director of Salt Rock Wines in Stellenbosch, and Marlee Malan of Vinochem Specialities in Kuils River.
Steenkamp’s dissertation gives a short summary of vineyard practices in South Africa and how to convert conventional to organic farming step by step, armed with an understanding of the complex symbiosis between soil carbon, microbes and the plant, and applying this to increase soil fertility and plant health without using chemical fertilisers, pesticides, and fungicides.
He covers the history and origins of the organic movement and why it was seen as controversial, contrary to what was being taught in schools and at universities. There is also a detailed account of different organic certification bodies to help grape farmers/wine producers identify the type of certification that is most relevant to the industry, the current European and American rules and regulations, the business side of farming with insights into structuring protocols and systems and financial risk assessments, and relevant practical solutions and methods for converting to grape organic farming, regardless of wine region.
Malan’s dissertation focuses on the application of different types of commercial enzymes in wine production in South Africa as a sustainable, environmentally friendly processing aid. Her research finds that the use of enzymes in winemaking holds great economic benefit by optimising yield, efficiency and quality, while reducing wear and tear on machinery as well as turn-around times in multiple key winemaking processes.
The research and trials conducted over a three-year period clearly show the impact of correctly applied enzymes on juice yield, waste reduction, colour extraction, cellar capacity and subsequent profitability. The more widespread application of enzymes has the potential to benefit South Africa’s wine producers because they have been proven to be efficient, cost-effective, safe, and sustainable.
At the annual ICWM black-tie dinner held at Creation Wines on Saturday 12 August, the names of the respective winners of the Wine Personality of the Year award and the Dave Hughes trophy were announced.
Pieter “Bubbles” Ferreira, chief operating officer and winemaker at Graham Beck Wines, was designated as the 2023 Wine Personality of the Year, while Heidi Duminy, principal of the CWA since July 2020, was designated as the fourth winner of the Dave Hughes Trophy.
The latter award was instituted in honour of Stellenbosch wine legend, Dave Hughes, who was the co-founder and honorary CWM of the Cape Wine Academy in 1979. He died in February. It is awarded annually to the CWM who has made a notable contribution to the Institute of Cape Wine Masters (ICWM), wine education or to the wine industry in general.
Duminy, many may well hold, is a deserving winner of the trophy, in the light of her tireless work since her appointment in promoting awareness of the CWA and giving it a new face and character as an NPO, a platform for future growth in wine education. She also spearheaded the renovation of the CWA’s premises at Oude Postkantoor in Stellenbosch and has elevated the image of the Institute and the CWA with the gallery wall of barrel staves featuring Cape Wine Masters since its inception.
Duminy’s dedication to wine education started when she qualified as a CWM in 2004. She has extensive experience spanning more than 20 years in the wine industry, including as marketing manager for Meridian Wine Merchants, having worked previously for Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy in South Africa and DGB.
