ABOUT THE WINELANDS welcomes Cathy Brewer, née Grier, who heads up Sales and Marketing for Villiera Wines in Stellenbosch. Villiera is a family run winery in the Stellenbosch region of South Africa, a pioneering quality wine company committed to preserving the environment.
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VILLIERA, unlocking the marvels of nature
About Villiera
It all began when cousins Jeff and Simon Grier started Villiera Wines and started on an extensive re-planting of classic and local varietals in 1983. Cathy Brewer (née Grier) later joined the family team to head up the sales, marketing and export divisions. They introduced hi-tech cellar facilities for the production of still wines as well as Méthode Cap Classique. With their unique wine business philosophy, the Grier family has developed Villiera into one of the largest private wineries in South Africa, situated 40km from Cape Town, 20 km from Paarl and 10 km from Stellenbosch. Follow Villiera on Facebook and Instagram.
For over 30 years the Griers of Villiera have been unlocking the marvels of nature to create the distinctive wines and sparkling wines that bear the family name”
We are a pioneering quality wine company committed to preserving the environment and have been rewarded with membership to the Biodiversity of Wine Initiative. We specialise in Cap Classique and have a strong reputation for Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. We also commit ourselves to on-going education and upliftment of our staff and are WIETA accredited.”
The Wines
Villiera focuses on bottle-fermented sparkling wines – MCC. A joint venture with Frenchman and champagne specialist Jean Louis Denois in the mid 1980’s has culminated in some of the finest Méthode Cap Classique sparkling wines in the country. The current highly acclaimed range includes a non-vintage Tradition Brut and Tradition Rosé Brut, a low alcohol MCC called Starlight as well as the vintage Prestige Cuvee Villiera Monro Brut and the additive free Villiera Brut Natural.
Join the Villiera wine club and buy online here
Tasting Room at Villiera
The Wine Sanctuary offers indoor or outdoor tasting of award winning wines and MCC, as well as various pairing offerings. More info here.
Wildlife sanctuary and game drives
Together with two neighbors (The Cape Garden Centre and Wild Clover Farm) Villiera set aside 220 ha of land as a wildlife sanctuary in 2009 which includes 12 dams plus marsh areas which attract a huge variety of bird-life. With a focus on recycling, the Villiera staff grow indigenous trees in old milk containers, plastic water bottles etc. which is then bought from them when a year old and planted out. Thousands of indigenous trees have also been donated by the Cape Garden Centre. To date well over 100 000 trees have been planted. More info here
The following mammals have been introduced in the Wildlife Sanctuary: Springbuck, Kudu, Giraffe, Bontebok, Eland, Gemsbok, Black Wildebeest, Bush Pig, Burchell’s Zebra, common Duiker, Steenbuck, Waterbuck and Grysbok.
Sustainability
- Solar Power – Villiera’s pioneering solar installation in 2010 has made a positive impact to their sustainable energy footprint.
- Rainwater Harvesting – To address the current drought crisis in the Western Cape, Villiera installed a rainwater harvesting system.
- Indigenous Trees – A greening project to rehabilitate fallow land entailed the planting of 1000’s indigenous trees on the farm which further mitigates Villiera’s carbon footprint.
- Environmental Awareness – The farm has not sprayed insecticides for over fifteen years and a flock of 1000 Peking ducks are responsible for some natural pest control.
- Back Label Stories – The back labels carry up to nine different illustrations which tell some of our stories.
- Pebbles Project – The Pebbles Project is located on Villiera who made available the offices. The main emphasis of the Pebbles Project is on education and enriching the lives of disadvantaged children and families in the Winelands farming communities in the Western Cape.
- WIETA – Social sustainability is another core philosophy in the Villiera business and can be witnessed through the support for the Pebbles project, the Owethu Clinic and Early Childhood Development Centre and After-School Club.
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About The Winelands
