Journey's End - UK Indie Partner Merchant

Last year we became the UK Indie Partner Merchant of Journey’s End Vineyard in South Africa. What does this mean? Essentially this means that we are their go-to UK retailer, stocking their whole UK range.

Who are Journey’s End Vineyard?

Journey’s End Vineyard is owned by the Gabb Family, originally from Shropshire in the UK. The Gabb family took control of this picturesque wine farm surrounded by 20 ha of gorgeous vineyards in 1995. By 2011 they had grown the estate to 120 ha. Journey’s End Vineyard is truly a family affair with the initial investment made by Roger Gabb and now continued by his son Rollo after taking the helm in 2007. The family's philosophy is of minimum intervention. The aim of which is to create top-quality, single-vineyard and appellation wines that intricately integrate the tension between remaining true to the terroir, and finding their unique expression of it. In a typical vintage, no more than 25,000 dozen bottles of estate wine are produced. Many of these regularly collect trophies on the international circuit. In fact, the Schapenberg terroir has begun to draw a comparison with the likes of Bordeaux, thanks to its sea-facing slopes, excellent soils and the exceptional wine emerging from the general area.

This Stellenbosch based vineyard has always been wholly committed to sustainably and ethically producing excellent wines for all occasions.

In 2020 Journey’s End was named Ethical Company of the Year by The Drinks Business Green Awards, in recognition for the Journey’s End Foundation’s work, which aims to provide 1,000,000 meals to their local communities by the end of this year.

Earlier in 2021, Journey’s End attained WWF Conservation Champion status for its ongoing commitment to sustainable farming and conservation of native fauna and flora.

Journey’s End believe in drinking well and growing forward, while truly being a force for good.

WIETA accredited since 2013 on ethical trading
HACCP accredited since 2014
IPW accredited since 2013 on environmental sustainability Solar. Journey’s End was the second wine producer in SA to convert to solar energy in 2014
PIWOSA Women in Wine Initiative. Promoted by Jancis Robinson, we sponsor underprivileged candidates through WSET and then selects international candidates to join the team for vintage
Fairtrade certified since in April 2017 and are now working towards ISO 22000.
IFS accredited since February 2019
Ethical Company of the Year in The Drinks Business Green Awards 2020
WWF Conservation Champions. Formerly the BWI, in 2021 we attained WWF Conservation Champion status, for commitment to ongoing sustainability and conservation work
Sustainability Wine Roundtable. Journey’s End becomes a founding member of the in 2021, an NGO aiming to create a higher global standard for sustainably producing wine.

A few interesting facts about Journey’s End Vineyard:

• They are the only the 2nd farm in South Africa to be totally solar powered.
• They plant a cover crop in between the vineyard rows to detract the flies and aphids away from the vines meaning that they don’t need to use herbicides or pesticides. The crop is also a nitrogen filter and post-harvest they flatten this crop into the ground which acts as a natural fertilizer.
• They have 15 hectares set aside where they are practising re-wilding, where they replant indigenous wildlife and plant life species.
• There are beehives on the farm to encourage pollination and to make honey.
• There are Egyptian runner ducks to eat the insects and Eagle Owls to catch rodents when necessary.

Journey’s End prioritises local support through a series of charitable initiatives, largely run through the Journey’s End Foundation.

2019: Journey’s End co-funded the construction of a new 1,500 capacity school hall in their local township of Sir Lowrys Pass
2019: Beat the Bully Programme launched to eradicate bullying across six schools and within two local townships
2020: In response to Covid and the threat of extreme hunger, Journey’s End set up NGO, Journey’s End Foundation. The initial target was 8,000 meals per week to be provided for those in need. Currently tracking at 25,000+ meals a week with a target of providing 1 million meals by 31/12/21.
2021: The launch of the ‘1 bottle to provide 1 meal initiative across specific products within the Journeys End portfolio, helping us reach more people.

Journey’s End is currently working towards being carbon negative.

This year, they have attained WWF Conservation Champion status, one of 45 farms in South Africa to achieve this. They have 22 hectares of land set aside for conservation purposes and they focus on regenerative farming practices, protecting natural systems, promoting biodiversity and replanting indigenous flora, particularly the critically endangered Swartland Shale Renosterveld and at-risk Boland Granite Fynbos.

Fairtrade certified they believe in investing in our teams.

Across the farm, they focus on efficient use and management of water and power. They were the second wine farm in SA to change over to solar power and are extremely vigilant with water conservation and supply. The water supply for all properties and the winery is drawn from their own borehole and their dams are filled naturally with rainwater, collected via a network of channels across the farm.

And this is only the beginning. Journey’s end has many plans for the future, including the installation of bottling facilities, the building of a warehouse, barrel store and special venue for private tastings. Is there anything this Vineyard isn’t doing to help, the community and environment while also supplying us with premium, hand-crafted wines?