Ganska rejäla krav för medlemskap:
Ownership and Minimum Capacity
1. Ownership of a registered wine estate as defined in the Wine of Origin Scheme, established in terms of the Liquor Products Act 60 of 1989.
2. The Estate must comprise a minimum of 20 ha of established vineyards under the direct control, either owned or subject to a long-term lease of 9 years and 11 months, of the management of the specific Estate.
3. A minimum of 5 ha of these vineyards must be established on the same land as the winemaking facility.
4. The Estate must comprise a winemaking facility, located on the Estate, with a minimum capacity of 100 (one hundred) tons, under the direct control of the specific Estate’s management.
Four Cornerstones of Membership
1. Technical and Environmental
Technical – to meet technical specifications members must have the winemaking facilities and the vineyards audited by Integrated Production of Wine (IPW) and must achieve a minimum pass of 75%. Environmental – the Estate must be a registered Biodiversity and Wine Initiative (BWI) member OR have ISO 14000 accreditation. If a prospective Estate cannot comply with BWI criteria, they may still apply but will need to detail environmental policies / accreditations. CVC directors undertake to meet with BWI to create niche criteria for affected Estates.
2. Cellar Door Facilities
Members must have cellar door facilities located on the same property as their winemaking facility, open to the public at least 6 days per week for the tasting and purchasing of wine. The cellar door facility must at least include a staffed Tasting Room, where the public may taste and purchase wine. An independent audit committee must review and grade the visual appearance of the Estate together with all cellar door facilities and a minimum score of 75% is required.
3. Ethical Matters
The Estate must have a recognised and acknowledged ethical accreditation based on the International Labour Conventions’ Ethical Trading Initiative, incorporating South African labour legislation; or submit proof of application to be audited by anaccredited organisation.
Detailed key criteria of the CVC for membership and tiering of wines
4. Wine Quality
Technical Audit – An independent audit committee must review and grade the winemaking facilities and vineyards of the Estate and a minimum score of 75% is required.
Quality Audit – For membership purposes the Estate will be required to submit wines from category 2, “Estate”, described below, to an independent audit committee for sensory evaluations and a minimum score of the range averaging 75% is required. Twelve months will be allocated for formal accreditation to be achieved. Should proof of a successful audit not be provided in time, the CVC may terminate membership without further consultation.
Tiers of Wine Classification
Given the primary objective of building South Africa’s brand image as a leading producer of world-class wines and promoting the Cape’s site specific wines, a key factor will be the need for CVC to be able to tier and classify members’ wines.
Three tiers of classification have been identified:
1. Site Specific Wines
Wines that have achieved the highest acclaim within the CVC and which meet the following specified criteria:
a) Originating from a clearly identifiable vineyard(s) that will have been reviewed and verified by an independent audit committee;
b) Five consecutive vintages of the wine originating from this vineyard(s) must be submitted to an independent audit committee for sensory evaluation and judging the site specific identity of the wine.
An average score of at least 85% must be achieved;
c) An audit statement verifying that over the five consecutive vintages this wine has been retailing in the Ultra-Premium sector at a retail selling price of not less than €15 per bottle.
2. Estate Wines
Wines bearing the Estate’s name or reference to it and made from vineyards falling within the description of Ownership. Wines in this category may carry full reference to CVC on all packaging and promotional material.
3. Wine of Origin
The CVC recognises that in terms of South Africa’s Wine of Origin Scheme, members may produce a wine or range of wines bearing the Estate’s name that are not an Estate Wine as defined in the Scheme. Wines produced and bearing the Estate’s name or reference to its name, but made from grapes or wine that fall outside the description of Ownership will not have the right to utilise / display any reference to CVC in its packaging or promotional material.
