Cape Town - Wine for donkeys? Donkey wine? Well, yes and no: let’s rewind to last November when 24 rescue donkeys arrived at their new home, a peaceful nine-hectare farm outside McGregor village, with paddocks and new fences, shadecloth and stables, grass and hay bales, and an office, education centre and coffee shop for their two-legged supporters.
Eseltjiesrus Donkey Sanctuary, having acquired its own property, now has a mortgage to take care of, along with myriad expenses of fodder and medicine, irrigation systems and staff salaries, although a team of volunteers does lighten the burden. The sanctuary not only provides a safe haven for aged, abused and destitute donkeys, but has active educational projects that reach children throughout South Africa and an outreach programme for donkey owners.
Fund-raising is continuous and essential, and sanctuary founders Johan and Annemarie van Zyl have discovered that assistance and donations take many, sometimes unexpected forms.
As one of four centres on the Robertson Wine Valley route, wine is an important element in McGregor tourism, and two animal-lovers took this fact a step further.
Meet Elmaré Welgemoed, a Franschhoek resident, lover of good wine, art and donkeys. She also has access to a single vineyard of old bushvine chenin blanc on her family farm, St Croix, and counts Delaire’s talented winemaker, Morné Vrey, among her friends. Having examined the vines, it did not take much to persuade him to make a fine, limited-edition chenin blanc in aid of the Eseltjiesrus donkeys, and the maiden vintage of Dazzling Donkey chenin, finished with a little semillon, went into oak for 18 months before being bottled last July.
It is, as one would expect, a glorious intense and complex example of wooded Cape chenin, fruit and structure in fine balance. Welgemoed’s choice of label was deliberate: she wanted a fun name and a happy donkey on a serious wine, pointing out that, just as Cape chenin was, until recently, the Cinderella cultivar, so the humble donkey is underrated.
Chenin enthusiasts and donkey supporters will find Dazzling Donkey at Wine Concepts in Newlands, and occasionally at the Franschhoek Saturday morning market.
The popular Rooiberg winery outside Robertson, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, has come aboard, thanks to its dynamic animal-loving CEO Johan du Preez. They have produced a light-hearted trio of Eseltjiesrus house wines, a sauvignon blanc, cabernet/merlot blend and an off-dry rosé, which will be available for tasting both at Rooiberg and the donkey sanctuary. As the latter does not have a wine licence as yet, orders taken will be executed (and delivered, if necessary), by Rooiberg. Selling at very palatable prices, profits from sales will be channelled to the sanctuary.
The three wines will be launched at the Sanctuary’s major fund-raising dinner on May 14 at Kelvin Grove in Newlands, where its popular patron and avid supporter David Kramer will take to the floor to entertain diners in his inimitable style. There are a few tickets left for this gala event.
* Tickets cost R500 a head, including a three-course dinner and wine. To book, contact Jennifer on 023 625 1908 or e-mail [email protected]. For more information, see www.donkeysanctuary.co.za.