Elgin Vintners, known to be one of the leading wine producers in the Elgin Valley is a story of collaboration, passion, pride in place and a love affair with the region, its people and its world-renowned fruit and wine produced from the area.
Although the home of Elgin Vintners, Elgin Orchards Farm, dates back to the 1890’s when it was known to be one of South Africa’s premium apple and pear exporters, the Elgin Vintners brand is barely stepping out of their proverbial ‘adolescent shoes’ as the brand was established in 2003 making 2019 a sweet sixteen for this youthful Elgin icon.
In celebration of their sixteenth year of grape-growing and wine-making excellence - Elgin Vintners decided to not only give their brand a new and refreshed image boasting a classic new logo, packaging and website, but they have also appointed one of the wine industry’s leading female winemakers. A lady who requires very little introduction in the South African wine industry circles, Marinda Kruger-Claassen, recently joined the team as the brand’s new business manager and winemaker to head up the management team and oversee winemaking and vineyard practices.
Marinda’s formal qualifications include a MSc Viticulture and Oenology degree and soon a Doctorate in AgriScience this year. Further post graduate studies includes wine marketing and wine evaluation courses which led to Marinda acting as wine judge at various local wine competitions.
When asked where her passion for winemaking started, she claims that it truly is a culmination of her love for science and soil, along with her creative spirit. ‘For me, winemaking is the creative science where one can use your intuition or gut-feel, if you know the science of the process, to guide it in order to create an inspiring wine that reveals its own story when you have the pleasure of drinking it’ says Marinda.
‘Our strategy for Elgin Vintners going forward will be to tap into the endless possibilities and potential as well as the authenticity of the brand with a core focus to high value, premium quality wine and customer focused initiatives.
Marinda says although Elgin is well known for their iconic Chardonnays the region also produces some of South Africa’s finest Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc wines. The ageing potential of the Ridgelands Pinot Noir, which is made in an old-world-style, as well as the Elgin Vintners Sauvignon Blanc, is truly phenomenal. ‘The current Elgin Vintners wine range already signifies and portrays the Elgin terroir and I only hope to improve on this, but also stay relevant, through being consumer driven and not producer driven’ says new ‘Leading Lady’ of Elgin Vintners, Marinda Kruger-Claassen.