The sprawling Spier wine estate, just outside picturesque Stellenbosch, is more than just a luxury leisure destination: It is a place of hope - where innovation meets reservation and one company's passion for people and the environment is changing the course of history for generations to come.

This passion for giving back to its country and its people - has lead to it being the first luxury hotel in South Africa to be awarded the Fair Trade in Tourism accreditation by the FITSA organization.

Sustainability forms the cornerstone of Spier's ethos: Dick Enthoven, owner of Spier, sees the estate as a "custodian" of a heritage that belongs as much to present generations as it does to those in the future. According to Enthoven "Spier is as much about enhancing the heritage, culture and ecology of the area and creating a sustainable financial situation as it is about creating an infrastructure conducive to normalising what used to be a distorted society."

In an attempt to preserve the environment for future generations, only environmentally friendly products are used on the estate (where possible). Spier recycles its waste water and solid organic waste; employs ecologically sensitive building practices and makes its own environmentally friendly bricks.

The estate plays host to two independent environmental projects on its grounds - The Cheetah Outreach Project and The Raptor Rehabilitation Programme. Both projects aim to create awareness to children and adults alike, in a fun, hands-on environment.

It is also in the process of making South African history, through the development of ‘Lyndoch', a mixed-income Winelands eco-village.

In an attempt to address some of the many injustices inflicted during the Apartheid Era, the estate is constantly engaged in the plight to redress social inequality: Spier believes in supporting local produce - most of the products used and sold on the estate have been made locally. Like the delicious biscuits available in each hotel room, baked by the Khayelitsha Cookie Company (a social upliftment company based in the Cape Town Township of Khayelitsha).

Spier has also made 65 hectares of land available to previously disadvantaged farmers - Each of the 16 farmers were provided with 2-5 hectares of land as well as the necessary tools and technical support to cultivate the land. The land originally belonged to freed slaves during the early history of the Cape and was later appropriated by the state during the Apartheid era. It is therefore fitting that it should be put back into black ownership.

A fine collection of African art adorns the walls throughout the estate. As a patron of the arts, the estate believes in the power of art to transform societies. With this ethos in mind, they established the Spier Summer Arts Season (a summer arts festival), the Africa Centre (a centre for the advancement of African Art) and the Spier Contemporary Art Exhibition and Award.

Adrian Enthoven, CEO of Spier and Dick's son, envisions a bright future for Spier in which the estate's transformative contributions to the environment and the community will only become more and more tangible. Says Adrian: "Today people are revitalised by the tranquillity of Spier, its heritage, the beauty of its surroundings and the diversity of unusual and unique experiences. As Spier deepens its sustainability focus, the benefits of the approach will become increasingly tangible for visitors to the Estate who will be enriched by the experience, as well as the contribution they are making to the environment."


Molo says: "Read more about The Cheetah Outreach Project and Raptor Rehabilitation Centre at Spier; The Village at Spier Hotel; the estate's wine tasting centre; and the hotel's new art rooms. Also subscribe to our monthly newsletters for more Cape Town news and events".