About
Jumper and Jack Wines
A true story
to be told...
During the late 1800s, travellers to South Africa saw a curious sight upon entering a small town train station. The signalman operating the levers that set the signals in the control tower was none other than a baboon named Jack - an employee of the railroad. He belonged to James “Jumper” Wide who worked as a signalman. Wide earned the nickname “Jumper” due to his habit of jumping and swinging from one railway car to another. It was through this that James lost both his legs in an accident, falling underneath a moving train. He made himself two pegged legs carved from a piece of wood, and built a small trolley to get around.
One afternoon while visiting the local marketplace, James saw a baboon named Jack, leading an ox-wagon. Noticing how smart Jack was, James begged the owner to let him have the baboon. Out of pity, the owner gave Jack to James and thus began the most unusual friendship in the railroad’s history.
Jumper and Jack lived in a cottage a short distance from the railroad depot, with Jack pushing Jumper to work every morning on the trolley. He would push Jumper up the hill and once on top, would also jump on to the trolley for a fun ride as it rolled quickly down the other side. Once at work, Jack operated the signals that instructed train engineers which tracks they would take.
Jumper kept an important key in his signal box that unlocked the points enabling locomotive drivers to reach the coal-sheds. Whenever a driver wanted it, he gave four blasts on his whistle and Jumper would come out holding up the key. Jack watched this for a few days, then raced out with the key as soon as he heard the four blasts. Thereafter it became one of his duties.
Finally Jumper was able to entrust the signal levers to Jack. He would hold up one or two fingers and Jack would pull the correct lever, always looking at his friend for confirmation. In the end, Jack needed no instructions from Jumper - he knew which of the levers to operate for each approaching train. As an added bonus, Jack caught the various offerings thrown to him by passengers.
Many locals would go to the tracks to see if the story of a baboon working the signals was true. Travellers were amazed at how well Jack performed his job. He knew the difference between the “home” and “distant” signals, and also the engine whistles;
he never made a mistake or required telling twice. Jumper and Jack worked well together and forged a strong friendship.
One day, a prominent lady travelling through the station, saw Jack working and was horrified at the prospects of a baboon running the signals. She notified the railroad authorities who were unaware that Jumper’s assistant was an ape. Jumper and Jack were immediately fired. After Jumper pleaded for their jobs, the system manager agreed to test the ability of Jack.
An engineer was instructed to blast his train’s whistle signalling Jack to change the correct signals. Jack made all the changes without fail. He even looked around in the direction of the oncoming train to make sure that the correct lever and signal were changed. Jack passed with flying colours! The railroad system manager was so impressed he gave Jumper his job back and even hired Jack who became the only baboon in history to go to work for the railroad.
From that day forward, Jack was known as Jack the Signalman. He was given monthly rations from the government and also received an employment number. In the 9 years Jack worked for the railroad with Jumper, he never made one mistake that resulted in an accident. Around Jumper’s cottage Jack learned to perform other tasks such as removing rubbish and sweeping the kitchen floor. He also turned out to be a very good watchman - greeting intruders with gnashing teeth and a ferocious snarl!
Our Mission
Crafting wines with environmental sustainability at the core
While the production of some butt kick wines are at the forefront of our game, environmental accountability stand strong at the core of our business.
Jumper & Jack are wines with intent - intent to give you a massive bang for your buck but also intent in producing these wines in the most environmentally sustainable way, we possibly can.
To top that, the intent gets better and we are taking environmental sustainability in wine outside the borders we all have come to respect and honour. Of course, we are lowering our carbon emissions! Yes, we are making use of more and more recycled content in packaging. Yes, we are making use of light weight glass across our ranges. Yes, we are using alternative energy sources rather than fossil fuels.
Don't get us wrong: Jumper and Jack wines are not organic (yet!) nor biodynamic, though we follow biodynamic principles in viticulture and wine covered by the IPW system, but we pride ourselves in our winery's waste reduction plan fuelled by a group of Hereford cattle we know by name.
Environmental sustainaiblity is a two edge sword and one swide of this sword is often overlooked. What are we doing as humans, who have taken up so much natural habitat of wild roaming animals to ensure their sustainability and future for next generations to come. This is the real intent behind the wines of Jumper & Jack - ensuring natural habitat, conservation of wild animals and minimising human animal contact.
Education is at the core of earth's future.
