Winemaking isn’t a common career choice when you grow up on a game farm near Okahandja, Namibia, says Danna de Jongh, who joined Simonsig Wine Estate in November 2022.
What was clear to Danna, was that she couldn’t have a desk job, she needed a career where she could spend time outside the office walls. The Cape Winelands can’t take the credit for sparking Danna’s interest in wine or her subsequent winemaking studies. That credit belongs to Germany.
Danna laughed as she recalled her initial studies, "I always forget I used to study BCom Law." It was during a gap year in Germany, boarding with a German family, that Danna slowly discovered the beauty of a glass of wine with a Sunday meal. There was little resistance from her parents, especially her mother, when Danna decided to switch her studies to winemaking. Who wouldn’t want a winemaker in the family after all?
She threw herself into her wine studies, and within her 4-year winemaking degree at Geisenheim she eagerly completed five harvests. After graduating, harvests followed in Portugal, Austria and the USA before she settled in South Africa. Here she would start out as winemaker in Constantia and in November 2022 she traded Constantia for a position at the Stellenbosch Cap Classique pioneer, Simonsig.
“I like the purity and delicacy of Cap Classique, a wine with power that takes time and dedication to produce,” says Danna, who learned the ropes of sparkling wine at a German sparkling wine producer Schloss Vaux. While her interest in wine started off in Germany, Danna is rooted in the South African wine industry with an appreciation for the camaraderie among local winemakers.
“The South African wine industry is dynamic and open to new ideas,” says Danna. There is a lot of sharing of information which helps drive the innovation that Danna is so excited to see in the industry.
At Simonsig, Danna has found a good balance between innovation and tradition. She arrived at Simonsig just as Michael Malan, third generation Malan, took over as cellar master and Frank Slabbert joined as assistant winemaker. The new team tackled Harvest 2023 like a well-oiled machine. 2023 saw a still rosé joining Simonsig’s wine line-up, the Needless to Say Rosé, and a revamp of the Cultivar Collection. And recently, the estate has added a 6th Cap Classique to their range, Satin Royale.
Danna is an introvert. She is reserved and focused, and confident in her winemaking abilities. “I’m creative, with good attention to detail and the ability to fine-tune.” She’s also observant and organised, skills she values in her role as a winemaker. Within the next few years, she intends to pursue her passion for sparkling wine and specialise in the production of premium Cap Classique.
When she’s not in the cellar or on her daily walk in the vineyards, she enjoys a bit of sailing with her husband. You can also find her preparing intimate wine dinners with friends and family, but true to her free spirit, she enjoys time off with camping or road trips. This year she explored the southern part of Namibia, getting her fix of her home country before the rush of the next harvest that lies just around the corner.