1. WHY YOU
SHOULD BUY
ORGANIC WINE
ORG DE RAC SETS A SHINING EXAMPLE
BY Gordon Brown
South Africans love wine, and
like all wine lovers we associate
wine with all things pure and true.
Images of vines so green they shock the
senses, growing in fertile soil of origin
and hung with fruit pregnant with the
nectar of the Gods; of young maidens
trampling the grapes in the winery, of
wine fermenting in oak barrels, and the
wise and expert wine maker tasting and
perfecting his creation. Ah yes – fruit of
the vine and work of human hands… a
spiritual pursuit!
The truth however is that modern in-tensive
wine production is not quite so
pure and natural, and is taking a heavy
toll on our natural resources. Water
intensive farming methods, exploiting
every arable square meter, using petro-chemical
based fertilizers and pesticides,
and dumping cellar waste water, are just
some unsustainable practices found in
varying degrees among many of South
Africa’s wine producers.
Some wine producers however are
leading a movement to return wine pro-duction
to somewhere close to the ‘ideal’
we perceive and indeed expect (without
the trampling maidens of course), and
certified organic wine estate Org de Rac,
based near Picketberg in the Swartland
Region is a shining example.
Through a combination of state of the
art technologies in the winery, and some
ancient ecologically intelligent strategies
in the vineyards, Org de Rac has been
able to produce exceptional wines that
are internationally certified Organic.
Our philosophy from the outset, says
Frank Meaker, general manager at Org de
Rac, has been to change the perception
that organic wines should taste differ-ent
to conventionally produced wines.
It’s been our mission to produce wines
of excellence from organically farmed
grapes that meet every expectation of the
consumer, and to do so at competitive
price points.
According to Frank, the winery has
been producing Organic wines since
2005, currently exporting 80% of its
produce to established markets pre-dominately
in Scandinavia and East
Asia. Frank believes however that local
demand for organic wines is increas-ing,
and Org de Rac is now gearing
up to expand South African sales and
distribution.
What a pleasure - I’ll take a case of
the Chardonnay please…
knowit
THE ORG DE RAC FLAGSHIP
RANGE FOR THE REFINED
CONNOISSEUR
ODR Cabernet Sauvignon
Reserve 2011****
R120 per bottle
Vineyard selected balanced ripe fruit
vinified and aged for 24 months in New
French oak 300 litre barrels. Aged 12
months in the bottle, this is a classical
full bodied Swartland Cabernet rich in
weight, fruit and wood integration.
ODR Shiraz Reserve 2011 ****
R120 per bottle
Vineyard low yield select vinified and
aged for 20 months in new American and
French oak barrels. Rich in black berry
fruit with a melange of exotic spices and
supported with a strong wood integrated
back drop.
La Verne Blanc de Blanc MCC
2011****
R120 per bottle
This fine Chardonnay cuvee was bottle
fermented and had spent 24 months sur
le (on lees) enriching the wine with the
richness of the yeast autolysis actions.
It is a Blanc de Blanc in the true sense
of the tradition, the finesse and elegance
that is expected from a Cape classic.
ODR Reserve Merlot Reserve
2011
R120 per bottle
The one that did not get the 4 Star Platter
award but the one with the form that
shows the most potential. Rich in
structure, full bodied wood integrated
very subtle leather berry and cigar
undertones.
www.greenhomemagazine.co.za greenhome 1919

3. PRODUCING WINE SUSTAINABLY AND
EARNING ORGANIC CERTIFICATION
IS NOT EASY - FRANK SUMMARISES
SOME OF THE SUSTAINABLE
APPROACHES USED AT THE ORG DE
RAC WINE ESTATE AS FOLLOWS:
At Org De Rac we adhere to a holistic
approach in all our actions starting with
vineyard soil preparation, planting of
selected vines, irrigation practises, vine
nutrition supplements, spraying for dis-eases
and natural predatory pest control.
We use organic fertiliser, produced on
the farm from manure and hay, supple-mented
with organic guanno and organic
fish emulsions as growth stimulants, and
invested long term in symbiotic fungi to
improve root function.
Soil is managed using alternate work-ing
rows, leaving the other row fallow,
growing cover crops, and taking care to
prevent soil compaction.
Pest control begins with the location
of the vines in relation to the prevailing
winds, ensuring good air circulation
during the growing and ripening season.
Actions include using natural pest preda-tors
to manage the insect balance, keep-ing
geese to eat the snails for example.
Crops are sprayed with a centuries old
Bordeaux recipe of sulphur and copper to
inhibit potential vineyard diseases, and
we aspire to run a weed-free estate re-sulting
in less competition for water and
knowit
fewer pests. are adhered to in the winery,
resulting in lower levels of contamination
of cellar effluent, which combined with
an investment in a Microbiological efflu-ent
plant, reduces the COD and solids of
the effluent, renders waste water usea-ble
for irrigation.
This in turn prevents river pollution
and reduces the demand for river water
for irrigation. It also saves energy as
water does not need to be pumped from
the river.
Irrigation throughout the Vineyards is
prescribed by continuous loggers under-ground
that determine the water needs
of the plant as the fruit develops and
begins to ripen, enabling a high rate of
water efficiency.
Organic wines thus have a much re-duced
carbon, water and river foot print.
To this end Frank and his colleagues are
looking toward an investment in Sola
PV in the future to minimise the carbon
footprint even more, and as part of the
holistic thinking, investing in people
is also part of Org de Rac’s approach,
caring for workers through various up-liftment
programs.
By committing large tracts of land
to farming a single crop, biodiversity is
negatively affected and to counter this
Org de Rac has set aside 20 hectares of
wetland, actively removed alien plant
species replanting indigenous natural
Cape floral species.
Org de Rac is a proud member of/participants in the following organisations/
initiatives:
Integrated Wine Production of Wine Schemes www.ipwc.co.za
WWF –SA BIODIVERSITY &WINE INITATIVE www.bwi.co.a
Agricultural Ethical Trade Initiative of SA www.wieta.org.za
SGS Organic Certification Austria
www.greenhomemagazine.co.za greenhome 2121