Journey’s End Vineyards, the award-winning Stellenbosch based winery, is delighted to announce the launch of its Spekboom Syrah 2022. This vibrant, medium-bodied red is named for the vineyard’s ongoing green project, the planting of spekboom thickets on the farm and will be on shelf at Sainsbury’s from 19th February, retailing at £10.
Journey’s End Vineyards has always been wholly committed to sustainably and ethically producing premium, delicious wines for every occasion; the Spekboom Syrah is no exception. Made from 100% sustainably sourced Syrah grapes, the location of the vines also influences the flavour profile of the wine. Typical of the coastal wine growing regions, the vineyards benefit from the cleansing and cooling winds which help the grapes retain their fresh, clean and elegant fruit flavours.
The wine’s namesake, spekboom (Portulacaria afra and also known as ‘Elephant Bush’), is a succulent native to South Africa, widely considered to be a ‘wonder plant’ due to its impressive abilities to absorb carbon dioxide relative to its low consumption of water. To put it in perspective, one hectare of mature spekboom thicket can remove up to 15 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, which is up to 7.5 times more than mature woodland.
As well as spekboom’s exceptional ability to sequester carbon and restore the functioning of an ecosystem, the hardiness of the plant means it is a great ally in helping to provide a more hospitable environment for younger, native flora that would otherwise struggle to grow, as it provides shade and adds organic matter back into the, often arid, soil.
Natural seedlings are rare, so restoration of thickets requires active replanting. As part of Journey’s End Vineyard’s continued goals towards reducing its overall carbon emissions, the company began planting spekboom in 2021, and as of February 2023, have planted 10,500 in open areas of the farm.
Managing Director, Rollo Gabb, says, ‘Following the continued success of our Spekboom Sauvignon Blanc, launched in Sainsbury’s last year, we are delighted to this year bring wine lovers a brilliant red option, our Spekboom Syrah. Since our Sauvignon Blanc was launched, we’ve planted a further 4,500 spekboom at Journey’s End, bringing the total number of these ‘carbon sponges’ on our farm to 10,500. Sustainability is a key focus for us, and creating wines and labels that tie into our green initiatives on the farm gives us great joy, and similarly, we hope our Syrah brings great joy to all who try it.’
Wine Buyer for Sainsbury’s, Sam Glanfield, adds, ‘We’re thrilled to be expanding the Spekboom range in store, offering our customers the opportunity to explore more South African wines with great sustainability credentials. We love this rich and complex Syrah from our friends at Journeys End and we can’t wait for it to hit the shelves.
Journey’s End Spekboom Syrah is available at Sainsbury’s from February 19th at £10.
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About Journey’s End Vineyards:
Journey’s End Vineyards is an award-winning South African winery, situated in the Stellenbosch winelands. Founded in 1996 by the Gabb family, it has always been wholly committed to sustainably and ethically producing excellent wines for all occasions.
Dynamic winemakers Leon Esterhuizen and Mike Dawson use progressive methods both in the cellar and vineyards. These include a minimal intervention philosophy, carbonic maceration, and fermentation and ageing in amphorae and concrete eggs.
As the most southerly estate in the wider Stellenbosch wine region, the Journey’s End team make use of their exceptional terroir and unique microclimate. Vines are planted on the Schapenberg hills, blessed with decomposed granite soils that are 350 million years old, creating one of the most prestigious terroirs in South Africa.
In 2021 Journey’s End joined the list of just 45 South African wine farms to attain WWF Conservation Champion status, became a founding member of the Sustainable Wine Roundtable and achieved carbon negative status.
In 2020 and 2021 Journey’s End was named Ethical Company of the Year by The Drinks Business Green Awards, in recognition for the Journey’s End Foundation’s work, which helps tackle poverty and hunger in the local community. The Foundation has so far provided over 3,000,000 meals to those in need since August 2020. It also received the Water Management Award in The Drinks Business Green Awards 2021, and in 2022 was the winner of the Social Impact Award and highly commended in the Sustainable Use of Water category at the Footprint Drinks Sustainability Awards.
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