Franschhoek, South Africa, 22 March 2021: Together with their employees, Mullineux & Leeu Family Wines, known for their multi-award winning Leeu Passant and Mullineux wineries, has started a new staff empowerment project called Great Heart Wines – aimed at improving the livelihoods of those who work for the company as well as their families.

Conceived during the first South African lockdown last year, the wine brand is collectively owned by the winery staff, and profits from all sales under this label will go directly to them. The staff will receive their first dividends at the end of the financial year, which is in May 2021.

The Great Heart Wines are available in the UK as of today (22 March), exclusively at Waitrose, retailing at £14.99 per 750ml bottle. The first two cuvees are the Great Heart Swartland Chenin Blanc and Great Heart Swartland Red blend.

For some time, founders Chris and Andrea Mullineux had been thinking how they could reward and uplift their dedicated and hardworking team. Lockdown galvanised this intent, and the idea of starting a wine brand that was collectively owned by their employees was born.

As Andrea Mullineux explains, “To thank our employees who have shown commitment, we have made those who have worked for our winery for 2 years or more shareholders of Great Heart Wines. They will directly benefit from the sales of Great Heart.”

“The pursuit of the greater good, especially in business, is not a given, but it's one that rings louder and truer for us with each passing moment,” Chris Mullineux continues. “Great Heart is our way of addressing an array of important issues in our industry today. A heartfelt thank you to Waitrose for their belief and support for this very special project.”

The Great Heart wines are grown and produced in the Mullineux & Leeu vineyards and cellars, with the same attention to detail the team follows in everything they do, resulting in wines with a natural intensity, complexity and a true sense of place reflecting the characteristics of the region, as well as those who live and work here.

“This is a huge opportunity to better lives and livelihoods, especially in this time of crisis,” says Gynore Fredericks, Assistant Winemaker at Mullineux & Leeu Family Wines, and Winemaker for Great Heart wines. “I am proud to be part of a project I can call my own.”

Businesses today have the power to transform the world. Mullineux & Leeu Family Wines is optimistic that Great Heart will go some way to changing the way consumers think, shift supply chains towards a better balance, and share a story and vision that will remind the world that by working together businesses can be a mechanism for equality, inclusivity and meaningful transformation.

-ENDS-

Notes for editors

Why the wagtail was chosen as the symbol of Great Heart

The African wagtail is known in South African folklore for its acts of selflessness and bravery in assisting others and has been chosen as the Symbol of Great Heart wines.

Here is a fable from Jaco Sieberhagen (creator of the Great Heart Wines labels):

The little wagtail roamed the great plains of Africa, always on the lookout for a new adventure. One evening, during a thunderstorm, the dry grass veld was set alight by a flash of lightning, destroying everything in its path.

At the first smell of smoke, all the animals fled to safety, except the little wagtail who remembered the human family he had once seen living downwind from the fire and he realized that they were in great danger. Instead of following the other animals, the wagtail flew to their home. With his high-pitched call, he woke the family in time for them to escape to safety.

The next day, the Creator summoned the little wagtail to appear before Him. “I have noted your selfless act of courage,” the Creator said. The Creator then dipped His finger in the soot of the previous night's veld fire and drew a heart on the white chest of the wagtail.  “This will remind everyone of the great heart you have.”

And from that day forward, the Cape Wagtail often visits the homes of humans just to see if they are still safe.

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Mullineux & Leeu Family Wines, which produces award-winning wines in the Swartland wine region some 80km north of Cape Town, is owned by Chris & Andrea Mullineux and Analjit Singh.  M&LFW has been named Platter's Winery of the Year for four of the last six years (2014, 2016, 2019 & 2020), while wine-marker Andrea Mullineux is currently Chairwoman of the Cape Winemakers Guild, a position she has held since 2019.

In addition to his interest in M&LFW, Mr Singh is the founder owner of  Leeu Collection (in Sanskrit singh means lion, which is leeu in Afrikaans), which comprises three five-star boutique properties in South Africa (Leeu Estates, a 23-room country house retreat and boutique winery in the Franschhoek valley; Leeu House, a 12-room hotel in the heart of Franschhoek village; and Le Quartier Français, a romantic 32-room hotel with two independent villas also located in the village) and Linthwaite House, an historic 36-bedroom property in the UK's Lake District. Another Leeu property is due to open in Florence in 2021.

Leeu Collection works closely with leaders in the food and spa industries to ensure a first-class experience at all its properties. The world-renowned La Colombe team has restaurants at Leeu Estates and Le Quartier Français, while the award-winning Darren Badenhorst runs the F&B operations at Leeu Estates and Leeu House. In the UK, Michelin-starred chef Simon Rogan oversees the food offering at Linthwaite House. South African brand Healing Earth, which is dedicated to award-winning quality, unparalleled service excellence and memorable experiences, manages the Leeu Spa in Franschhoek.

Leeu Collection also has a partnership with Everard Read, which showcases contemporary artworks by Southern African artists. Everard Reads' first Franschhoek gallery is a considered space adjacent to Le Quartier Français in the heart of Franschhoek, while the new gallery showcasing monumental art and featuring a sculpture garden is located on Leeu Estates, with indoor and outdoor artworks.

For more information and hi-res images, please contact:

Sue Heady

Heady Communications

Tel: 01608 651 692 / 078 5595 0705

Email: sue@headycommunciations.com