Distell

History of Stellenbosch Farmers' Winery (SFW), Distillers Corporation and Distell

Stellenbosch Farmers' Winery

SFW has long been a major force in the wine industry in South Africa. This company was the brainchild of William Charles Winshaw, an American medical doctor who came to South Africa in 1900 at the time of the Anglo Boer War. In 1925, SFW was created with Winshaw remaining as the MD of the organisation until 1962 when, at the age of 92, he retired. SFW, as the name implies, excelled at producing quality wines for the full spectrum of consumer needs. This company was also instrumental in the creation of a major new segment in our alcoholic beverage industry - ciders or alcoholic fruit beverages as we know them. One of the company's key strengths has always been innovation.

Distillers Corporation

The brainchild of South African business giant, Dr Anton Rupert, was registered as a corporation in 1945. Distillers expanded energetically and very quickly set up marketing relationships and partnerships in the wine and spirits industry. Soon this company also became a major producer, focusing on distillates and in particular on the brandy market that it developed from relative obscurity to its current level of prominence. It is renowned for its Bergkelder concept, a marketing innovation that invited wine estates to make use of Distillers' bottling, sales and marketing expertise. In addition, it created a new African icon, Amarula Cream, which today is one of the top-selling cream liqueurs in the world.

In the ensuing years, both SFW and Distillers effectively managed wine and spirits growth in South Africa, despite a restrictive business climate. The successes of both companies contributed largely towards the development of the liquor industry into a major force in the South African economy. In so doing, the companies became major creators of employment opportunities and wealth in South Africa.

Distell was created in 2000 by the merger of Stellenbosch Farmers' Winery (SFW) and Distillers Corporation. These two companies joined forces to form the Distell Group, a move that will would benefit the industry as a whole through its rationalisation, refocusing and effective pooling of resources.

DISTELL ARTS AND CULTURE

Distell has actively been supporting the arts in South Africa for the past forty years. Art is a universal language which everyone understands and is used as a tool to create jobs, to educate and develop mutual respect for the immense diversity of cultures and people in our beautiful country. Many Arts & Culture projects and events were supported throughout South Africa which included dance, poetry, music and drama.

Funding

New indigenous plays, contemporary and traditional dance productions, multi-media poetry projects, classical, African & jazz concerts at the many of the Art Festivals were supported. These festivals include: Grahamstown Arts Festival in the Eastern Cape, Aardklop Festival in the North Western province, Volksblad Festival in Bloemfontein, Cederberg Festival in the Western Cape, Hilton Arts Festival in Kwa-Zulu Natal, KKNK in Outdshoorn, Kalfie Festival in Hermanus, Woordfest in Stellenbosch, Suidooster festival in Cape Town and The Cape Town Festival.

Workshops and master classes by professional South African and international musicians are given to new and upcoming talent at the various universities of South Africa. The students are also given the opportunity to perform with professional orchestras. Various classical, African and jazz concerts as well as Chamber Music festivals which include local and international musicians are presented by the music departments of the universities which we support.

Community development projects are supported. The Kayamandi arts project in Stellenbosch is a recent project which was initiated a year ago with the collaboration of Distell, the Woordfest and the Kaya Mandi Trust. Local and international professional musicians give workshops to the youth who wishes to pursue a career in the arts. New talent is given an opportunity to be part of a mentoring programme where musicians assist them to one day be able to sustain a profession.

The Ikhwezi Community Festival an outreach project presented by the Baxter Theatre is supported by Distell. Young talent from the rural areas is scouted through auditions which take place over a period of a few months. Fifteen groups coming as far a field as Port Elizabeth and Umtata are given six month workshops in the field. Four week pre-production rehearsals are held at the Baxter and UCT College to get them all set to partake in a three week run of their productions at the Baxter Theatre.

Outreach and audience development projects in collaboration with Artscape are supported. The Imvelo Feast, a month long celebration of South African heritage was held to showcase the diversity of cultures. Performers included ballet, contemporary, African and Indian dance, African indigenous musical instruments, opera & contemporary songs and a youth jazz band.

Other development projects we are also involved with is a collaboration with Magnet Theatre Outreach Projects, the Jazzart Job creation programmes and a Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) programme done in collaboration with Take Away Theatre Group which run on farms in the Boland community.

Support was given to the Youth Classical and Jazz Music Festivals where young talent was given the opportunity to perform with a professional Orchestra. Young musicians attended intensive music workshops, rehearsals and master classes and then performed with the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra and a visiting international conductor.

Vredendal Community Project in collaboration with Artscape was supported. Theatre was taken to the rural areas and workshops given to talented youth. The different genres included ballet, opera and contemporary dance presented by JazzArt Dance Group.

Annual Classical, African and jazz concerts are presented and supported at various venues throughout South Africa. Winter and Summer Concerts Series are held at wine estates such as Nederburg and Uitkyk.

Support is given to the annual Oude Libertas Amphitheatre Summer Season where wine song and dance forms a perfect blend.

Funding cycle and closing dates for proposals:

Our financial cycle runs from July – June each year. Funding proposal should reach our offices by 15 February – feedback will be given by end of June. We work one year in advance so all funds in the cycle July 2010 - June 2011 have already been committed. The next funding cycle will only be considered in February 2011 for projects running from July 2011 – June 2012.

Criteria for sponsorship: We only support development projects in the performing arts and unfortunately do not support:

•Choirs •Individual artists or musicians •CD projects •Local and overseas trips, accommodation or travel expenses •Office equipment or infrastructure •Individual productions or concerts – we only support it through collaborations with theatres, universities or art festivals. We are a liquor company and therefore also do not support projects where children under eighteen are involved or are the direct beneficiaries, as we do not want to be perceived as promoting liquor amongst the youth.

Fleur du Cap Awards

Awards

The prestigious Fleur du Cap Theatre Awards, a glamorous evening affair, is held annually in March and is under the auspices of Distell Arts & Culture. Excellence in theatre is awarded to top professionals for distinguished acting, directing and technical abilities in 16 different categories. The Special Lifetime Achievement Award and People’s Choice Award is announced and presented at the ceremony. Top South African entertainers also perform at this glam event and tickets are available through Computicket. All funds generated are donated to development in the performing arts.

Arts website

Cape Town’s comprehensive one-stop gateway to the city’s vibrant local theatre scene, the interactive website www.capetheatre.co.za is an initiative of the Fleur du Cap Theatre Awards and forms part of Distell’s social investment initiative. This website, edited by award winning journalist Marianne Thamm, is an extension of the company’s involvement in sponsoring, nurturing and highlighting theatre and theatrical talent in the city. The website features theatre news, a calendar, reviews by the city’s leading theatre critics, interviews and profiles of theatre personalities, restaurant listings and detailed information about forthcoming productions and development in theatre. It also provides extensive information about individual theatres including location and seating capacity.

By reaching out to all communities we hope to sustain and develop the performing arts in South Africa for many more years to come.

For more details

Go to http://www.distell.co.za/

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