We were sent an exciting invitation to taste the Association's best Chardonnays - A CapeWine Event
The Programme for the day
The Chardonnay producers setting up their stands in the Haute Cabrière restaurant
and visitors started to arrive and taste
with wonderful views from Cabrière's restaurant
Eddie Lourens of Hasher Estate in the Hemel en Aarde with Marimist Chardonnay
which won them Winery of the Year in the London International Wine competition
A double magnum
Eddie Smit of Vriesenhof and Narina Cloete, Blaauwklippen winemaker
Johan Kruger with Jeanette Bruwer and Jenna Bruwer Kruger of Springfield
Both farms produce elegant and well made Chardonnays
Into the cellar for the speeches
Plates and plates of oysters
Much appreciated by everyone
Some important producers of South African Chardonnay waiting to hear the speeches
Carolyn Martin of Creation opened proceedings
"Let the world know: South African Chardonnay isn’t just world-class, it’s leading the future of Chardonnay"
UK-based Joe Wadsack currently co-hosts the British TV series BBC Food & Drink
and is the new wine expert on This Morning on ITV1 with two other wine enthusiasts
Renowned for his brilliant palate, Joe studied wine in Bordeaux before working as a buyer at Waitrose
and is now a consultant and speaker
Joe with Benny Howard CWM
The audience assembling
Jeanette Bruwer and Jenna Bruwer Kruger of Springfield
in conversation with Steyn Fullard, Weltevrede marketing manager
Sjaak Nelson is the Chairman of the Association and winemaker at Jordan wine estate
“I am excited for the future of the Association after the first Chardonnay Association AGM in August
This last year has seen wonderful growth for the association with big things to come!
Our Chardonnay in South Africa is the best of the best and we’re going to tell the world
At a recent Chardonnay Association tasting in London the guests and wine trade were all there
and they were blown away by the quality and price point
We can compete with European Chardonnay growers like France
We have such good and varied terroir and climate for Chardonnay and we are producing it very successfully
in barrels, tanks, foudres, concrete and ceramic amphorae"
"South African Chardonnay is no longer a quiet contender,
it stands confidently alongside the greats of Burgundy, California, and Australia
Once overlooked, it now tells a story of transformation: of winemakers who blend precision and innovation
with deep respect for terroir, crafting wines of purity, restraint, and world-class character
As the Chardonnay Association of South Africa, our mission is to take this story beyond our borders, to shift perceptions
and elevate South African Chardonnay as a category defined not by geography, but by excellence"
and elevate South African Chardonnay as a category defined not by geography, but by excellence"
Several members of overseas wine media and trade who were attending CapeWine were at the event
Time for Bennie Howard CWM to give us some of the history of how Chardonnay reached South Africa
1983 was a very important year for Bennie, he was one of the first three Cape Wine Masters to be inducted,
and an important year for Chardonnay.
"There is an illustrious group of Chardonnay producers here today
and by the end of the day you will have tasted some of the amazing variation of styles we have for you to enjoy
The history of SA Chardonnay is very short. A mere 46 years ago, in 1979, a book was published by Prof. Chris Orpen
called Grape Cultivars Grown in South Africa , a snapshot of the industry in 1979
and only 10,195 chardonnay vines were planted here
Thanks to the South African wine growers for the 6540 hectares we currently have
There were less than 1000 hectares of Chardonnay grown in the rest of the world outside France
It was not easy to bring in new vines into the country in the early 1980s
In 1983 the legends of the industry started to bring in cuttings to fast track planting of the variety
and they must be congratulated
It was striving for excellence and passion for the chardonnay variety that led people like Sidney Back,
Danie de Wet, Jan Boland Coetzee and Frans Malan to take shortcuts
The illicit importing of Chardonnay vines by these wine visionaries into the country
has become part of our wine history and boosted Chardonnay
This brought benefit to the whole of the wine industry as other varietals were approved for growth
which led to a better organised system
Another thing the Chardonnay planters had to survive was the ABC trend 'Anything But Chardonnay'
because of the over-oaking of the wines
The showy wines and the not always so dry wines spoiled the reputation of the wines from New World plantings
This led to the resilience of the Chardonnay producers here
and led to the determination to produce the best Chardonnays in the world
They achieved this through geology and terroir. The vines grow in some of the worlds oldest soils
From the coastal regions to the inland reaches they are producing wines of such variety
that cannot be replicated anywhere else in the world. The spectrum of styles of wines we have is truly remarkable
That's all in a radius of about 150 to 200 kilometres to Sutherland, Elgin, Hemel en Aarde, Robertson, Bonnievale, Stellenbosch, Paarl, Constantia, Durbanville, Darling
We encourage our winemakers to embrace site specific viticulture, use sustainable practices, native yeasts"
"We produce wines of outstanding value, wines that express place, purpose and personality ...
they regularly outperform higher priced wines at blind tastings, offering world class quality at excellent prices
Chardonnay is particularly important in the production of sparkling wines
and especially our Cap Classique wines, not only for Blanc de Blanc styles but in blends
And SA Chardonnays age well. There are now four producers on the Old Vine project, vines older than 35 years
These wines will now bring a new dimension to show off their flavour and texture"
Some historic Cap Classique and Champagne bottles in Cabrière's memory corner
Some of their vines are now part of the Old Vine Project, being over 35 years old
Then it was time to watch the new documentary film the Association has made
about how Chardonnay reached South Africa and how it has progressed
What we really liked is that they feature many of the original brave and determined wine people
who courageously brought in the first vines, sometimes in socks, sometimes in suitcases....
Chardonnay cultivation in South Africa was blocked by the authorities in those days! Legendary
Sjaak Nelson: "The Chardonnay Association of South Africa is proud to have released the first snippet of a larger documentary project: World Class Chardonnay, The South African Story at our CapeWine 2025"
"This opening chapter of the series sets the context by tracing how Chardonnay first arrived in South Africa
and the foundations that shaped its growth
It is the beginning of a bigger storytelling journey that will follow the evolution of this noble grape
from its roots to its current standing as a global force. You can watch a small part here
We thank all who joined us for our CapeWine 2025 event and for being part of this movement
Thank you Haute Cabrière for hosting this event and to the incredible team that pulled it all together with us!"
"Thank you to Bennie Howard CWM for your lovely keynote address,
to hear the history brought to light with such eloquence is a delight.
A big thank you to Rockpool Media for pulling this together,
we look forward to walking this journey with you as partners in creating more magic
Thank you to our producers who contributed film and to our interviewees for the first set of interviews
We invite you to join the conversation: share your thoughts, photos, and impressions with us online
by tagging @chardonnayassociationsa "
Let the world know: South African Chardonnay isn’t just world-class. It’s leading the future of Chardonnay"
Rudi Schultz of Thelema with their award winning Chardonnays
They produce Chardonnay in Stellenbosch and in cooler Elgin under their Sutherland label
Henning Retief of Kleine Zalze with Anel Andrag
Emul Ross, Hamilton Russell winemaker, talking to Gunnar Skoglund from Norway
Johann de Wet, MD of De Wetshof. Their Chardonnays are always of excellent quality
This year the Bateleur really impressed, so classic, layered, so full, so special
Carl Schoeman of Boschendal and Dominique Modena of Bellingham with their Chardonnays
Pontsho Maduna, Epicurean Wine
Epicurean was established by four friends who share a passion for fine wines, the best that the world has to offer
Narina Cloete, Lize Marie Geldenhuys of Graham Beck and Martin Smith of Passerine
- a delight to taste these Blanc de Blanc Cap Classiques
Graham Beck Blanc de Blancs and GB Autumn Collection Blanc de Blancs
The GB Autumn Collection Blanc de Blanc back label
After we tasted that lovely bubbly, and before we could taste any other wines, John collapsed.
We need to note here, for those who don't know and might think he'd had too much, that we don't drink a lot at these tastings; we sip, swirl and spit. We would not get through the tasting if we didn't do that. He had immediate assistance from Cabrière, who called a a local paramedic, Kurt Maske, and a calming Swedish doctor Dr Carlsson for which we are very thankful. When John collapsed for the second time, an ambulance was called and we were taken to Paarl MediClinic where Dr Mouton and the nurses in the emergency centre gave him all the necessary tests for heart and possible stroke. They did blood tests and all was normal - with no sign of alcohol! The conclusion was that after a recent bad virus John had been standing too long and had a Vasovagal Syncope, and he fainted. Others who have had the virus also reported fainting, including John's daughter. We had been very busy in the previous few weeks, as you might have seen here and on our Facebook and LinkedIn pages, and had probably pushed too hard. He is fine. Huge thanks to all who gave us such great assistance.
All the stories we have produced since 2012 can be opened from the archive list near the top of the column on the right of this page
