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News
Robben Island wine marks Mandela’s birthday
Weltevrede Wine Estate has produced a pair of wines from vines found on Robben Island to mark the 94th birthday of South Africa’s former president, Nelson Mandela.
Weltevrede The Parable
The project was managed by the Robertson-based winery’s empowerment trust, Weltevrede Aansporingstrust, after members visited Robben Island in 2005 and were shown a group of neglected vines on the prison garden site where Mandela buried the manuscript of his book, Long Walk To Freedom.
After a three-year restoration project, the vines eventually yielded their first harvest in 2012. The 182kg crop was then transported to the winery at Weltevrede, around 200km east of Cape Town.
The two wines are The Parable, a sweet wine, and The Manuscript, a Cap Classique brut sparkling wine bottled in magnums. While The Manuscript is still being vinified, a bottle of The Parable was presented to Mandela for his birthday. Both will be sold exclusively at international charity auctions.