The little guy you see roaming across the pages of this website and on the Slowine bottle goes by the name of the Common Padloper (“Road-walker”).

Some call him the Parrot-beaked Tortoise on account of his sharp upper lip, but he is mostly known by the affectionate Afrikaans term “Padlopertjie” or “Small Road-walker”. That’s because he’s often seen cruising down country byways.

He’s endemic to the Cape and particularly likes the Groenland Mountain – our Green Mountain around which we grow our vines.

Moving with unhurried confidence across the landscape, the Padlopertjie only breaks into a trot when he senses danger – or when he is chasing a female! He is the perfect exponent of the Slow philosophy of doing everything at its appropriate speed.

Of course, one of his cousins also achieved fame by beating the hare in a race. The tortoise is living proof that you will get to the finishing line – and have a good journey – if you move steadily and at your own pace. For this reason, Slowine has the Padlopertjie as its mascot. He reminds us to take our time.