Koopmanskloof

South African wine of prize-winning quality

The Koopmanskloof vineyards are situated in the Stellenbosch region. This is one of the most important wine regions of South Africa. Wine from these parts is subject to high expectations and the fair-trade wine from Koopmanskloof lives up to them with aplomb. In recent years the organisation has racked up nominations and awards in both domestic and international competitions.

“Delivering on quality (info in Dutch) is really important to us. As is the way our wine is made. We don’t use any machines in the pruning of our vineyards and we pick the grapes by hand”, reveals Rydal Jeftha, manager of Koopmanskloof.

The grapes for the Koopmanskloof wines come from six divisions with charmingly South-African names like Vredehoek and Houdenmond. Together the vineyards span 457 hectares. Just under half of this area accounts for red grapes, the rest for white.

Koopmanskloof processes the grapes at its own winery. By overseeing cultivation, harvest and production themselves, this Fairtrade enterprise retains more profit, which in turn benefits all its employees directly.

The world’s first fair-trade wine

When manager Rydal Jeftha launched Koopmanskloof’s Fairtrade wine, it became the first Fairtrade-certified wine in the world. As a true fair-trade pioneer, Rydal Jeftha seeks to further expand Koopmanskloof as a role model for sustainable development within the South African wine industry.

All its permanent employees are co-owners of the modern wine company. Which goes to show that black economic empowerment is high on the agenda for Koopmanskloof. Each year the company distributes dividends as supplementary income for its employees.

Power to the people

Every day, Koopmanskloof takes structural action to tackle the deep-rooted social challenges still lingering from South Africa’s apartheid past.
Today, 51% of the cooperative is owned by the Black community, with 18% held directly by field workers.
Under South Africa’s Black Economic Empowerment framework, “Black community” includes all people of colour, as well as Asian and other ethnic minorities in the region.

“Only 18%? That might sound small, but it means a lot to our community,” explains Athenkosi Gosani, Fair Trade Officer at Koopmanskloof. “Large neighbouring wine farms are almost all white-owned. Here, young people now see Black role models in a sector where they were always workers, never decision-makers. Representation creates perspective. We are agents of change.”

Sustainable in every respect

In addition to being fair-trade, Koopmanskloof is committed to sustainability in the broadest sense of the word.

• Koopmanskloof manages its own water supply, with six dams and reservoirs on the farm.
• Its estate contains 98 hectares of nature reserve, with indigenous ‘fynbos’ vegetation that Koopmanskloof actively protects.
• Koopmanskloof is a key employer in a region of significant unemployment, consciously choosing manual pruning and harvesting instead of mechanised labour.

Koopmanskloof & Oxfam

• The fair trade premium paid out to Koopmanskloof by Oxfam is managed by the Fairtrade Premium Committee. It includes four elected workers and one staff representative, and funds a wide range of social projects: a crèche on the estate, a Provident Fund for pensions, medical costs and death benefits, electricity subsidies, and laptops to improve digital skills among workers and local youth.
• By 2025, Koopmanskloof aims to establish thriving community gardens that promote healthier lifestyles and strengthen social cohesion.
• Since the start of our collaboration in 2008, Koopmanskloof’s range of wines available through Oxfam has grown significantly.
• “Koopmanskloof and Oxfam are striving toward the same objectives. That’s why we’re so happy to work together. Ethical consumers can rely on us for a product that they can enjoy with a clean conscience”, Rydal concludes.