Friday, May 25, 2018

RIP Giulio Bertrand and Jean-Luc Sweerts




RIP #1 Giulio Bertrand
A great loss to everyone who appreciates good things to eat and drink, Mr Bertrand died this week at the age of 91 after suffering a heart attack. He came to South Africa from Italy, having been the fifth generation of his family to work in the family’s textile business. He acquired Morgenster estate in Somerset West in 1992 and undertook a major restoration, planting olive groves and vineyards and restoring the historic buildings. Morgenster, under his guidance, has become a very important producer of high quality wines and olive oils. We were at the launch of his massive new olive oil production facility last year. He did wonderful things for the industry and is a great loss

RIP #2 Jean-Luc Sweerts
Image result for jean-luc sweerts
Photo courtesy of Wine.co.za
A very good winemaker with a very eccentric touch, Jean-Luc worked with Achim von Arnim at Boschendal before moving to Avontuur where he made some great wines. After Avontuur, he worked at Grande Provence before starting his own business MC Square. We remember well his MC Square Chardonnays from the early 1990s which were excellent in their youth but had the ability to age much better than most other Chardonnays of those years. He, too, will be missed


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