Episodes

  • Less - Marlene Truter

    Less - Marlene Truter
    May 22 2024
    Carefully curated environmentally, socially and economically sustainable wines that offer the ethically conscious consumer a wholly satisfactory sensory experience.
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    23 mins
  • Le Chant - Petri

    Le Chant - Petri
    May 1 2024
    French flair and South African determination have long been intertwined in the fabric of the Cape, a camaraderie spanning centuries, each contributing to the rich and respected fine wine legacy of South Africa. Le Chant embodies this enduring wine relationship, marrying Old World heritage with the contemporary New World. Our mutual efforts are etched by passion to bring forth exceptional wines which are classical, distinctive and pure. The striding Rooster has for many a decade been the personification of French flair. It is when the Rooster is bursting in song (Le Chant), that it reveals its exuding confidence, pride, and determination to the world. It is these shared characteristics, entwined with South African resilience, that has brought our like-minded proprietors into unison of song and wine. Between False Bay and Le Chant’s vineyards are only gently rolling hills – nothing to impede the progress of the sea breezes inland. Le Chant is sited on what was formerly four separate properties, the centre of which was known as Eikenhof, a wine farm in Stellenbosch’s Polkadraai Hills.
    The terroir is characterised by gently rolling hills of varying elevations between 220 and 280m above sea level. The slopes face predominantly south and southwest, which exposes them to the cooling sea breezes of predominantly False Bay and, when conditions are right, Table Bay. Hailing from the Polkadraai region, this signature blend takes the lead from Merlot while harmonising classic Bordeaux varieties with Shiraz and Sangiovese. The result is an intriguingly vibrant wine that lingers on the palate, capable of ageing for another 8 to 10 years. Because of the microclimate that arises from the combination of the breezes and the aspect, and long ripening period, Le Chant’s grapes retain their acidity, which reflects as an edgy acid tension. Making wines that embody origin is the ultimate outcome we strive for. We also respect nature and the preservation thereof. The Le Chant team brings together several people with a proven track record for wine excellence and a passion for the land and wine without compare. The Oddo family; a fifth-generation vigneron from the Polkadraai, Willie Joubert, who manages the farm; technical director Schalk-Willem Joubert, a seasoned and highly-acclaimed figure in the Cape Winelands; and winemaker Petri Venter, whose youth and enthusiasm both inspires and galvanises the cellar team. A shared passion for great wine is what drives this collective, to bring wines of the Polkadraai to homes globally. If not traversing mountainous trails or swimming from Robben Island to the mainland, Petri Venter can be found plying his trade in the belly of our cellar. Having grown up surrounded by the great vineyards of Stellenbosch, it was with ease that a path was etched out into a career of winemaking. Following the completion of his B.Sc degree in viticulture and Oenology, Petri gained working experience in both South Africa and France.He then settled into a permanent winemaking role at the iconic Taaibosch Wine estate, where he has been the assistant to Schalk-Willem Joubert for three years. With the development of Le Chant wines in the Polkadraai region, by the Oddo Family, Petri was a natural choice to lead the new winemaking direction.
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    38 mins
  • Illimis - Lucinda Heyns

    Illimis - Lucinda Heyns
    Apr 24 2024
    Illimis, the Latin word for clarity, signifies winemaker Lucinda Heyns’ crystal clear winemaking philosophy. Wine should be a window to where its vineyard is rooted.
    Illimis intends to honestly harness what nature offers, and follows a minimal intervention principle as far as possible, allowing the wine to express its origin with clarity, finesse and complexity.
    Lucinda worked as viticulturist for leading South African wineries and refined her winemaking skills with experience in South Africa, California and Italy. A decade of hands-on involvement in both vineyards and winemaking, developed a clear vision for Illimis.
    Being a viticulturist at heart, she believes that everything starts with the vines. Every vintage is unique, and her hope is that every wine is a tribute to the endless pursuit of refining the potential of each site the Illimis wines are made from.
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    32 mins
  • Marianne - Jos van Wyk

    Marianne - Jos van Wyk
    Apr 17 2024
    Originally from Bordeaux where our family owns 3 wine estates, we fell in love with South Africa during our many travels to the country.Our dream was to combine both, the Old & the New World, to make wines close to our vision of perfection. Therefore, we decided to purchase this boutique wine estate of 32 hectares (including 24 on vines) located in Simonsberg valley in 2004.Manual harvesting, selection of the best grapes, French oak and Acacia barrel ageing, combined with a French "savoir-faire" from our South-African winemaker Jos Van Wyk, will lead you to explore some of the finest wines produced in the region.
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    40 mins
  • Nativo - Billy Hughes

    Nativo - Billy Hughes
    Dec 21 2023
    The Hughes Family Wines - or Nativo Wines - is a family-run winery making handcrafted, certified organic wines that are a true reflection of their place of origin. Founded by Argentinean-born Billy Hughes, and run alongside his daughter Kiki, the wines are certified organic and naturally fermented, made using minimal intervention farming and winemaking practices. Their philosophy is that by interfering as little as possible with the wines, the unique flavour of the farm will be protected and expressed. Signature wines include multi-vintage award-winning wines: the Nativo Red Blend and White Blend. Additional limited release wines include a unique skin-contact “orange” or “amber” wine – which has become our signature - and a Field Blend created from a small block of bush vines. We have recently added various newer Mediterranean-style varietals and blends such as Tempranillo, a Shiraz-Mourvèdre Grenache (SMG), and Viognier. The wines have a unique mineral characteristic that is typical of the red clay soil which the vineyard is planted. We take an innovative approach to winemaking, which includes making an effort to understand and preserve the natural ecosystem that is unique to our farm and cellar.
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    36 mins
  • Survivor - Pierre Wahl

    Survivor - Pierre Wahl
    Dec 14 2023
    Travelling through the Swartland on the back of a truck, heading towards an auction, a Nguni cow knew a beautiful vineyard when she saw one and jumped off. She was appropriately named Survivor when the grower found her grazing in his vineyard. Like her, our wines start with a leap in the vineyard and in true Nguni spirit our grapes are now sourced not only from the Swartland, but also the Elgin Valley, Stellenbosch, Darling, Tradouw and Hemel-en-Aarde, to compose the unique complexity and diversity of the wines in the Survivor Range. Our winemaker intensely debated which regions possessed the perfect balance of rainfall, clay, shale and granite content, so that opening a bottle of Survivor allows you to experience the essence of these terroirs. Survivor Wines are as distinctly South African as the Nguni cow that inspired them.
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    41 mins
  • Lubanzi - Charlie Brain

    Lubanzi - Charlie Brain
    Dec 7 2023
    Lubanzi is a start-up, sustainable, South African wine company, created in Cape Town by two young travelers, Charlie Brain & Walker Brown, who were inspired by a year (in bits and pieces) of living, traveling, hiking, and backpacking all over SA. Started as a collaborative business, Lubanzi is made up of a consortium of successful winemakers, viticulturists, farm laborers, and humanitarians in South Africa as well as its two co-founders. With roots in adventure and global citizenship, our name comes from a wandering dog, the locals called Lubanzi, that followed Walker and Charlie on a 6 day, 100-mile hiking trip across South Africa’s Wild Coast. Built, as a social enterprise, 50% of our year-end net profits are entrusted back to The Pebbles Project, a South African NGO that provides health and educational resources to the families that live and work on wine farms throughout South Africa. Built upon this notion of a more complete, equitable supply chain, Lubanzi strives to use its success to enhance opportunity for those who make what we do possible. Lubanzi was first launched in America in early 2017 and has since expanded into almost every state nationwide. More recently they have expanded into new markets across Canada, UK, Sweden, Ireland, and Asia. Alongside their most recent launch of their ‘Orange Is’ skin-contact Chenin they have also launched two new wines into their core portfolio- a Sauvignon Blanc and a Cinsault. In addition to being featured by NPR, the Washington Post, Forbes, Food & Wine, Business Insider South Africa & others, we’ve received 90+ points from multiple acclaimed wine outlets such as James Suckling, Wine Enthusiast, Anthony Dias, and Decanter. Hailing from South Africa’s rugged and iconic Swartland, we’re about making fairly- produced wine that punches far above its weight and is a force for good in the world.
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    39 mins
  • Raimbow's End - Anton Malan

    Raimbow's End - Anton Malan
    Dec 5 2023
    Rainbow’s End was bought in 1978 by Jaques Malan. Since then owned by the Malan family. Started to plant vineyards in 2000 after terroir planning was done in 1999 by Prof Eben Archer. Rainbow’s End just planted under reds comprising 18ha of the Bordeaux varieties and Shiraz. ( 35% Cabernet Franc; 25% Merlot; 25% Cabernet Sauvignon; 10% Shiraz and 5% Petit Verdot and Malbec ). First wine was made in 2002 by Anton Malan being the winemaker since then and assisted by his brother Francois Malan who is the viticulturist and farm manager. Office, logistics, marketing related issues is done by Jana Cloete and winemaker Anton Malan is also responsible for the sales. Future projects has been done like planting of flowers and fynbos by Francois. ( proteas and pincussions). A new tasting room with spectacular views of the mountains and vineyards has been build in covid and opened in January ‘ 2022. After 18 months allready a huge success. Winemaking is done in a traditional way. Picking all by hand, destemming with no crushing and hansorted before going into tank. Open tank fermentation with traditional punch downs still done by hand. A unique cooling process is done with water pumped from their natural fountain through stainless steel plates in the tanks and back into the fountain. All the wines are matured in 225 liter French Oak barrels for 12 months and the icon Bordeaux blend consisting of only 12 barrels matured for 24 months. 40% of the wine is exported to countries like German, Switzerland, UK, Belgium, USA, Singapore and Japan. The other 60% is sold to the top restarants in SA, Private buyers and from the farm’s tasting room. Label is done in a traditional, classique style by their artist sister Marieke and the label is still the same as it was when first released in 2002. The red wines are all Estate wine with the flagship vatiety being Cabernet Franc followed by top Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Then a Bordeaux blend , The Family Reserve is made consisting of the best 12 barrels of the vintage out of their Bordeaux varieties. A marketing approach is driven by personal relationships and is done by Anton in the trade and exports and Fennel, ( the tasting room manager ), and Jana from the farm. The end produck is a boutique exclusive wine sold at very competive prices. Focus is 100% on quality and consistency. The red wines is made in a style between Old and New World wines. Wines that you can drink at a young age but can also mature for up to 10-15 years. The unique location in the highest corner of the Banghoek valley with great red oakleaf/red hutton soils with the passionate people working the soil, vineyards, wines and marketing/admin is the biggest attribute with their top quality red wine boutique brand.
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    45 mins