As a brand, Spier quietly gets on with doing the right thing, so I was delighted to be included at a dinner to celebrate all their incredible achievements in the last year.Did you know that the entire hotel is being refurbished/renovated (a process of at least 12 months) and not one of the staff is losing their job. In fact, they are being up-skilled. It is this kind of commitment to the people, sustainability, regenerative farm and the environment which has garnered them the Drinks Business Ethical Award - just one of the many on their Trophy list of late. Their awards are many and prestigious, and include being recognised as Best South African Producer 1993-2023 at Mundus Vini Spring, as well as having 2 wines in the Top 10 variety awards competitions in SA; the Seaward Sauvignon Blanc is in the Top Sauvignon Blancs and their Pinotage in the ABSA Top 10 Pinotage. So it was a huge honour to join the team to mark and celebrate these achievements. CellarMaster Johan Jordaan, Wine Sales SA Marketer Rowan Ellappen, Sommelier Georgio Meletiou and Chef Hennie Nel guided us through the dinner, pairing delicious fatty and salty charcuterie with their award-winning Pinotage (highly recommended), lamb to die for and an unusual nutmeggy veloute.. Johan regaled us with stories of their trips to France in the early days - it was most enjoyable. It really helps when you pair the right foods with the wines - so do yourself a favour - have a look at the series of Winemaker Dinners at Spier - and enjoy an evening in the Manor House being treated like royalty.