Gary and Kathy Jordan and the rest of their team at Jordan Wines are now into their second year of this great initiative to keep poorer Stellenbosch community members warm and dry this winter.
As Gary says, ‘This started out a few years ago and we wanted to help, but were loathe to distribute wine to various communities when it was quite clear that it was basic necessities such as warm clothes, food and blankets that were in short supply.’
Last year an entire storeroom was filled with donated clothes and blankets within a fortnight and they are hoping for similar success this year as well.
How does it work?
You turn up at Jordan Wine Farm with any good quality old clothes or blankets, tinned food or dry pet food. The team at Jordan will then assess the value and will exchange your donation for the appropriate amount of bottles. Kathy notes ‘We’ve had no Gucci shoes or bags so far! Sometimes it can be 1 item = 1 bottle, for other smaller or older articles of clothing perhaps a bag – it all depends.’
The clothes are then either distributed by established church and community charities directly to the most needy or, in the case of Stellenbosch Animal Welfare (a cause very close to both Gary and Kathy’s hearts), they then sell the clothes and use the money to buy pet food and blankets to keep their animals warm and well-fed this winter.
It’s nice to give stuff for a good cause, but it’s even nicer to receive some reward for your kindness. So get yourself over to Jordan over the coming weeks, take some stuff that will be appreciated by someone, taste their wines (I’d give a particular recommendation for their Riesling, their Outlier Sauvignon Blanc and their Chameleon Red) and leave with a good feeling and a few bottles of great wine.
Jordan is situated on the Stellenbosch Kloof Road and their tasting room is open daily from 9.30am – 4.30pm.