Two weeks ago Creation Wines on the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge had the honour of receiving the regional 2021 Great Wine Capitals (GWC) Best of Wine Tourism Award for Innovative Wine Tourism. This week a delighted Creation team learnt that the estate has been declared the 2021 Global Winner for Innovative Wine Tourism Experiences. Since the announcement congratulations have been pouring in from all over the world with co-owner and marketing director Carolyn Martin thanking all friends, clients, suppliers and agents for their heart-warming support.
GWC with its slogan ‘A World of Excellence’ is a network of major global cities sharing a key economic and cultural asset: their internationally renowned wine regions. The annual Best of Wine Tourism Awards is an international competition designed to reward the wineries in member cities and wine regions that have distinguished themselves in terms of delivering quality experiences to the public.
Asked what the global award means to her, Carolyn replied: “To me the 2021 award is all about how we pivoted over the past months. Our team went to extraordinary lengths to mitigate the challenges imposed on wineries during the Covid-19 lockdown and the ban on the sale of alcohol. This happened on many levels: from sourcing materials and upskilling the team to the development of new products and delivery systems. I see the award as recognition for their resilience and courage during a time of great uncertainty and I would like to thank the judges for noticing. Sometimes innovation is born out of adversity; this year was nothing short of a miracle with suppliers, agents, friends and clients rallying around to create our inspired new reality.”
What’s wrong with Groovin’ – virtual event in collaboration with Joburg Wine Club
Earlier this year the estate’s trendsetting ethos was also acknowledged at the 2020 Wine & Food Tourism Awards when Creation was one of the top three honourees in the Innovation category. According to Carolyn winning these sought-after awards confirms that Creation lives up to its evocative name. “Our name is not only a tribute to the riches Mother Nature has bestowed upon our farm, but also a reference to our soils which had never been planted to vines before. Last but not least, it is a promise of constant renewal.’’
The estate has played a pioneering role in the field of Wine and Food Pairing, presently offering no less than six options. The latest is the ‘Summertime Story of Creation’ pairing menu which Carolyn says is a celebration of ‘all things good’: “With the summer holidays almost upon us, I’m pleased and excited to announce that we have just launched a most original – and scrumptious – new pairing menu. The Summertime Story of Creation is about grace and gratitude. It’s about our deep thankfulness to Nature, our dedicated team and our loyal clients for having made it possible to overcome the restrictions imposed on us by Covid-19. It’s about counting our many blessings and rewarding our clients not only with the finest of wines and seasonal foods from our pristine region but also with the gentle, joyous ambience of our magnificent setting – creating memories.”