Finalist from Durbanville Hills competes for Farm Worker of the Year 2014

The results of the regional competition were announced at the awards ceremony at Durbanville Hills on 26 September. Davies achieved the highest score of the nine category winners.

Creating role models for workers in agriculture

The competition, currently in its 14th year, is sponsored by Shoprite and the Western Cape Department of Agriculture, and aims to create role models for workers in agriculture. Workers compete in nine categories ranging from general worker to technical operators to middle management.

Johan Streicher, Manager of Freshmark, Shoprite Group; Mervyn Davies, Regional and Junior Category Manager Winner of Durbanville Hills; Erika Manho-Damons, Development Officer at Western Cape Department of Agriculture.

Davies, who also won the junior manager category, has been working at the Durbanville Hills cellar for the past six years, where he was first appointed as cellar assistant before being promoted to cellar coordinator. He has a passion for winemaking and aspires to study the art.

Commenting on his achievement, he said, "My motto in life has always been 'make today better than yesterday', and I think that my eagerness to learn along with my enthusiasm for the work I do, contributed to my success so far. My mother has always been my biggest inspiration and by growing up on one of Durbanville Hills' member farms, Klein Roosboom, my interest in winemaking has now grown into a career."

He will represent the Durbanville Wine Valley in the finals on 9 October.

Another Durbanville Hills cellar worker, Christo Samson, won the technical operator category. Samson, who joined five years ago, works in the maturation cellar where he is responsible for the maintenance of the maturation casks. He is currently completing a diploma in marketing while at the same time enjoying the challenges of his current role.

He said, "I grew up in Tulbagh and my mother played an enormous role in inspiring me and she is the reason why I have an interest in wine. She worked incredibly hard and especially during harvesting she would get us involved in the vineyards or in the cellar and by doing so, my interest and love for the industry started from a very early age."

Each entrant received a certificate while the nine category winners each received a trophy, R1,500 in cash, a Shoprite gift voucher and a certificate. For the regional winner there is a further R1,700 cash prize.