It’s often said of a winemaker that he or she is a philosopher … but Johan Reyneke actually studied philosophy, and when you ask him about his pioneering biodynamic vineyards (the first in South Africa, which he opened back in 2007) or his winemaking techniques or his charitable work, you are as likely to hear about the Indian philosopher Amartya Sen (“if you have choices, you have power”) as about grapes or vats or barrels.
It isn’t hard, standing in Reyneke Wines' spectacular vineyards in the Polkadraai Hills in Stellenbosch, to see why someone lucky enough to live and work here might want to protect the place. Jackal buzzards wheel, surfing the thermals. The ocean, just six miles away, breathes cool air on to the growing grapes. “We have found lots of hand axes, made from sandstone and carried here,” he says. “This place was special for people long before westerners arrived.”
Reyneke doesn’t do his protecting — or anything, really — by halves. He waves at an unplanted strip, where he has persuaded The Wine Society to fund a wildlife corridor. He talks about sustainability in this region of ancient soils and ruinous high-density grazing and waves towards the spot where he is building a smart winery, using local materials and expertise. Then he takes us back to his farmhouse, with its kitchen at one end and his artist wife’s studio at the other, to taste his new wine range. Five single varietal wines, the whites from 2024, the reds from 2023 — all from vines that are regeneratively farmed and hand-harvested, then sold in lighter bottles (to lessen his carbon footprint).
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