Thoughts are like vine tendrils in an animated movie. A little green shoot struggles through grains of sand and initially slowly, but ever faster, gains momentum and strength, climbing and gaining purchase, winding itself ever upwards toward the light.
The recent celebration of Women’s Day (August 9) in South Africa started one of those random tendrils.
And the thought was initially as generic as women in the wine industry. But then it gained traction and the more I started running through a mental checklist of women winemakers, the more that germinated seed flourished and additional leaves started appearing: viticulturists, logistics, educationalists, marketers, writers – and so the vine climbed and grew.
In the 20 years that I’ve been in the Western Cape remarkable strides have been made. It’s no longer a surprise to see a woman in the winery. Many woman are now head winemakers, cellar chiefs, and very comfortable in those positions because they earned them on merit.
Historically, women have played a significant role. Writer Joanne Gibson has beautifully chronicled the role of Catherina Ras at Steenberg – where Elunda Basson is now at the helm after stints at both Nederburg and JC Le Roux’s specialist sparkling wine cellar. Jean Parker of Alytdygedacht is another woman whose role is not always given the prominence it deserves. The same goes for Eleanor Finlayson of Hartenberg.
Having started off in 1984, Norma Ratcliffe was the matriarch of Warwick and was ably assisted at one point by Lola Hunting, now Nicholls. (Nicholls still makes wine at Mitre’s Edge.) Out in Tulbagh, in the enveloping embrace of the Witzenberg mountains, Janey Muller of Lemberg was arguably one of the genuine pioneers of the Swartland, somehow nurturing deeply unfashionable Harslevelu into bottle in the 1990s!
And this is how the leaves sprout and start to intertwine... Andrea Mullineux, one of the modern revolutionaries, now calls the Swartland home, as does Nadia Sadie of David & Nadia, Hanneke Botha at AA Badenhorst, Jolandie Fouche at Kloovenburg, Christa von la Chevallerie of the bubbly label Huis van Chevallerie. Coincidentally, she sold her Nuwedam farm to Suzanne Alheit and her husband Chris since they’d been buying the Old Vine Chenin Blanc for their acclaimed range of wines. And Old Vines would not even be on the map if it were not for viticulturist Rosa Kruger scouring the land for those gnarled old parcels of venerable fruit and preserving them not just for posterity but making them produce absolute gems.
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