Issued by: GC Communications On behalf of: Cape Winemakers Guild
Kone Gugushe, Divsional Executive for Corporate
Social Investment at Nedbank with protégés Heinrich Kulsen and Ricardo Cloete
This year marks the 20th anniversary
of Nedbank’s association with the Cape Winemakers Guild and with the dawn of
this remarkable milestone, the bank has renewed its longstanding partnership
for a further three years.
“Through our partnership with the Cape
Winemakers Guild, Nedbank has made things happen in the wine industry, and we
are proud to see the growth and development that has taken place over the past
two decades,” says Mike Brown, Chief Executive of the Nedbank Group.
In addition to
Nedbank’s corporate sponsorship of the annual Cape Winemakers Guild Auction,
the Nedbank Foundation makes a significant contribution towards development
initiatives undertaken through the Nedbank Cape Winemakers Development Trust.
The past year saw the establishment of the CWG VinPro Viticulture Protégé
Programme as well as a new partnership with Wine Training South Africa for the
advancement of cellar workers. This will up the skills significantly in the
wine industry, complementing the development work already done through the CWG
Oenology Protégé Programme.
“Nedbank is committed
to making a sustainable impact in our country. We collaborate with public and
private organisations such as the Cape Winemakers Guild to contribute towards
the National Development Plan goals,” says Kone Gugushe, Divsional Executive
for Corporate Social Investment at Nedbank.
Since the inception of
the Guild’s Protégé Programme in 2006, a mentorship scheme with the goal of
effecting transformation in the wine industry, 17 interns have participated
with no less than nine graduates who are all forging successful career
paths in the wine industry.
“Corporate
investment is crucial if we want to achieve a flourishing wine industry.
Through the support of Nedbank and the Nedbank Foundation we have been able to
expand our Protégé Programme year on year. By investing in these talented young
people, we are giving them the ability to plough back their knowledge and
expertise thereby helping to create a sustainable wine industry,” says Andries
Burger, Chairman of the Nedbank Cape Winemakers Guild.
Under the mentorship of
members of the Guild and the patronage of the
Nedbank Cape Winemakers Guild Development Trust,
Oenology and Viticulture protégés are cultivated, nurtured and empowered to
become masters of their craft while enjoying the rare opportunity of working side by side with leaders in the
industry.
In addition to the
generous donation from the Nedbank Foundation, the members of the Guild also
raise funds through various silent and charity auctions at events throughout
the year including the annual Nedbank Cape Winemakers Guild Auction.
The auction has been a
benchmark of winemaking excellence for over three decades with wines of
remarkable lineage and enduring quality. These rare, outstanding wines are crafted with creative flair in small volumes exclusively for the
auction by members of the Guild.
This year’s auction
takes place at the Spier Conference Centre
in the Stellenbosch Winelands on Saturday, 3 October 2015.For further details and to attend the auction, visit www.capewinemakersguild.com or contact the Guild Office on Tel: 021 852 0408 or info@capewinemakersguild.com.
