Burton Francis, owner of Francis Wines.
From kicking-off barefoot on an icy rugby field in a small South African town to traversing the vine-covered slopes of Burgundy, this is the story of South African sportsman, Burton Francis, and his journey that birthed Francis Wines.
At the heart of Francis Wines lies the story of a youngster who’s had to face much adversity and endured his fair share of hardships. Growing up in Paarl, he remembers making tracks as he ran from intruders breaking into his family home and having to play rugby barefoot on frozen ground. But through it all, a determination was birthed to see the soil under his feet change his life.
Fast forward to a young man excelling in his rugby career, on home turf and abroad. Which found him playing professionally in France. After years on foreign soil – tasting dirt on both rugby field and amid French vineyards – the player fell in love with the Burgundian winemaking style and the methods that have been honed for centuries. This inspired him to fulfil a new dream, that of completing his MBA in Wine and Spirits Business at the Burgundy School of Business with the aim of launching a Burgundy-style wine back in his home country, South Africa.
Soil analogy is central to Burton’s philosophy and vision, and he was adamant about honouring traditional methods, where possible, and to pay special attention to the concept of ‘climats’, which refers to delimited plots of land – precisely defined and recognised for their unique micro-climate and geological features, with its own identity and personality.
By taking consultation with wine-veterans, such as the renowned Kevin Grant as lead consultant, and incorporating this thinking into the unique typicity of the Hemel-and-Aarde Ridge appellation, Burton Francis aims to create world-class wines that are nuanced by the subtle variance in altitude, aspect, and the soil of the specific vineyard site within Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge.
After many years in progress, this month saw Francis Wines, the brand, come to life with the launch of his debut 2022 vintage – Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
On the wines, Francis comments, "Francis Wines is an expression of the elegance, balance and complexity of an old-world wine." He continues, "By respecting and preserving the ‘climats’, we aimed to produce wines that reflect the diversity and richness of our terroir and bring out the true expression of the grapes. The result is a wine that embodies the elegance, finesse, and complexity as found in Burgundy’s finest offerings, but produced from the soil of Hemel-and-Aarde."
Francis Wines is proof that endurance and a will to continually rise, produce character and hope, and can change a story, for the better.