Big or small, fury or bold, you just got to love animals. They make us smile and fill our hearts with joy and the least we can do is to give them some love and respect. The following wine producers are doing their bit by donating a percentage of sales to worthy animal causes.

Small Change Chenin Blanc from Mulderbosch

Rescued on St. Valentines Day, a pavement special entered the home and hearts of the Dobrovic Family. Today Small Change has a Chenin Blanc named after him and a percentage of the wines sales are donated to the Animal Welfare (SPCA). The Small Change Chenin Blanc is presented in a commemorative tin, which doubles up as a money box and can be order here.

Southern Right range from Hamilton Russell

The South Right range consist out of a Sauvignon Blanc and Pinotage and with each sale of Southern Right wines, they make a contribution to Southern Right Whale conservation in Walker Bay. The wines are named after the rare Southern Right whales, which frequently visit the cool Southern Atlantic Walker Bay, just 3km from the vineyard. An estimated population of 25,000 Southern Right Whales, off the South African coast, was reduced to just 50 in 1935. Thanks to this brand the numbers are now back up to around 2,200. The Sauvignon Blanc cost R85 a bottle and the Pinotage R150 at the cellar door.

Game Reserve from Graham Beck

Formally known as the Gamekeeper’s Reserve, the Game Reserve range are named after a 3,700-acre game reserve established by Graham Beck himself. Zebra, ostrich, rare rabbits and various reptiles roam near the vineyards. A portion of the proceeds from this range are directly allocated to the conservation budget for the property, and used on reserve management activities.

The label for the Game Reserve Chenin Blanc 2009 features the endangered South African Riverine Rabbit. The Game Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards are planted close to fynbos which the Game can feed on. You can order the The Game Reserve Chenin Blanc here and The Game Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon here.

Porcupine Ridge from Boekenhoutskloof

The Porcupine Quest aims to understand more about this animal and its role in promoting biodiversity in the Cape. Apart from funding the studies of Christy Bragg, a PhD student who investigates the effect that porcupine foraging has on different Cape ecosystems, Boekenhoutskloof also sponsored 16 state-of-the-art wildlife GPS tracking collars. You can keep track of their movements by visiting www.porcupinequest.com The Porcupine Ridge range consist out of a Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier/Grenache Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah and a Syrah/Viognier. The Sauvignon Blanc retails at R40 and the others at R50 and you can get them from various retail stores or at the tasting room in Franschhoek.

The Elephant Rose from Boplaas

In keeping with the biodiversity initiative, Boplaas devoted 2200 ha exclusively to nature conservation objectives, while a portion of income generated by wine exports is budgeted for conservation. They are also the first wine farm in history that use an elephant that helps them treading the grapes for the Boplaas Elephant Dry Rose 2009. Part of the profits are donated to elephant conservation & research. The wine retails at R30 from the cellar door.

Leopard’s Leap from Leopard’s Leap Wines

Leopard’s Leap wine donates a percentage of the sales to the Cape Leopard Trust, a conservation project established to save the species from extinction. Hein Koegelenberg, CEO and founder of the global wine label Leopard’s Leap Wines believes that endangered animals need our help and has donated a lot of 6 figure amounts to the Cape Leopard Trust to show his support. Leopard’s Leap is the main sponsor of the Trust, and has been for six years. The Leopard’s Leap range retails between R40 and R60 and you can buy it here.

Splattered Toad from Cape Point Vineyards

Toads seek the warmest place to breed on a cold winters night (don’t we all), which happens to be in the middle of the road. The end result is tragic and in aid to save some toads the Noordhoek community started a cause “Save the Toads”. The residents have put up “Warning: Breeding Toads Crossing” signs, but more are needed. So with every bottle of “Splattered Toad” bought, R1 goes to saving Western Leopard Toads in the area. The range consist out of a Sauvignon Blanc at R39 and Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon blend at R48 which can be purchased here.  By doing this good deed, they have create a viral story and a great consumer bond.

The Short Story Collection from Neethlingshof

The Short Story collection consist out of three wines, of which two tell the story of how owls and caracals (rooikatte) were brought back to Neethlingshof by implementing conservation programmes. A few years ago Neetlingshof had a big problem with mice destroying their vineyards. The easy way out would have been to control their numbers chemically, but this was not an option for Neethlingshof. They decided to rather make use of owls to catch the field mice. Their favourite way of hunting is swooping down on their prey, so owl posts were erected in the vineyards where the mice caused the most damage. There are also indications that the caracal have started breeding in the granite hills on the farm, possibly attracted by the large flocks of guinea fowl. The Owl Post Pinotage and the Caracal Red Blend can be purchased at the cellar door for  R120 a bottle.

Chameleon Range from Jordan Wines

The Jordan family have always protected this gentle, natural pest-controller, the Cape Dwarf Chameleon. They were concerned that Chameleons might be harmed by machine harvesters in the vineyard and started the Jordan Chameleon Research Bursary. Proceeds from the worldwide sales goes towards the research bursary that is awarded annually to a PhD student in the specific study of Chameleon research in the Cape wine growing areas. The Chameleon range consists out of 3 wines. The Chameleon White Blend and the Chameleon Rosé are available at cellar door for R47 per bottle and the Chameleon Red Blend  sell for R57.

Quagga Ridge from Horse Mountain Wines

Horse Mountain Wines are part  of the Quagga Project that focus on conservation and the reintroduction of the animals to its former habitat. Horse Mountain Wines donate funds to the Quagga Project for every bottle of their Quagga Ridge wine sold. The Quagga Ridge range consist out of a trio of every-day ‘lifestyle’ wines comprising a wood influenced red blend, a white blend  and a dry Rose. The animals can be viewed at the game enclosure on the farm and the wines retails at around R30 a bottle.