CONSERVATION
On all our farms, areas have been identified for conservations and are actively conserved.
CASE STUDY: De Bos Farm, Hermanus
We are very proud that the Upper Hemel-en-Aarde farm near Hermanus boasts BWI (Biodiversity and Wine Initiative) Conservation Champion underwritten by the WWF.
In 2023 Bosman Hermanus won the Best of Wine Tourism & Ambassador Awards 2023, in the category: ‘Sustainable Wine Tourism Practices’, a competition run by Great Wine Capitals Global Network.
This farm spans 270 hectares currently with 44ha under vine and 28ha under protea (this changes every year depending on our planting programme), the remaining 178ha are actively conserved and consciously rehabilitated as part of our regenerative farming philosophy.
Initiatives there include:
- the clearing of aliens from the natural areas, including a pristine wetland, to allow the natural fauna and flora to thrive.
- To date over 350 indigenous ‘fynbos’ species have been identified on the farm and we are propagating these in our plant nursery endemic to the area to spur on rehabilitation.
- Within the vineyards themselves, cover crops are planted in between the rows and rolled flat in spring to feed the soil and create mulch.
- The alien trees on the farm have all been cut down and chipped to serve as mulch on the ridges of the vine rows.
The tasting room is also focussing on sustainability. Coffee is sold in bamboo cups, and used wine bottles are recycled into drinking glasses.
We also grow certain fynbos species commercially and the workers make up bunches of the leftovers to sell to earn extra cash. These are called ‘plaasmeisie bossies’ and have become very popular amongst visitors to the farm.
