Today, she channels that approach into crafting the Christina Cap Classique collection, comprising two super-premium sparkling wines from Van Loveren Family Vineyards, one of South Africa’s leading family-owned wineries and recent recipient of the 1659 Visionary Leadership Award.
Danelle Conradie grew up in the north of the country but maintained strong Cape ties through her mother, who was raised on a table grape farm in the Hex River Valley. Family holidays were spent on the coast in Hermanus, sparking a lifelong love of the Cape. Both her parents were Stellenbosch University alumni, and her path took her there too in 1994 at age 19, initially to study medicine.
Before long, she realised her heart lay not in hospitals but in the soils, vineyards and cellar. She switched to winemaking, where she was mentored by some of the most respected minds of the time, including Professors Joël van Wyk, Eben Archer, Dawid Saayman, Piet Goussard and Loftie Ellis. “Loftie was the one who encouraged me to go abroad and experience international harvests,” recalls Conradie.
A career shaped abroad and at home
Conradie’s first harvest experience, a key part of her studies, was spent at Laibach Vineyards (currently part of Kanonkop). After graduating with a BSc Agric degree in Viticulture and Oenology, Conradie spread her wings and left the country to gain international experience.
Her first stop was at Amberley Estate (today Aravina Estate) in Western Australia’s Margaret River, where she completed a harvest. She then moved to Switzerland, spending several months at a small family-owned winery near Lausanne on the shores of Lake Geneva. Bordering France, she says the winemaking practices here resembled typical French winemaking. During this time, Conradie also travelled extensively in France, particularly the Loire Valley.
Returning to South Africa in 2000, she cut her teeth at Rooiberg near Robertson before working in wine retail, deepening her understanding of consumer preferences. She then joined Stellenzicht in Stellenbosch’s Golden Triangle as assistant winemaker under Guy Webber, learning from one of the industry’s most seasoned practitioners.
In 2003, Conradie became head winemaker at Amani Vineyards on the Polkadraai Hills, followed by a role as winemaker at Raka Wines in Stanford. It was here, in 2006, that she met Hennie Retief of Van Loveren during a chance visit. Within weeks, she was offered a position at Van Loveren – the winery’s first non-family winemaker.
Today, nearly two decades later, Conradie and her husband, Henry, are raising their two children in Robertson, where they are firmly embedded in the valley’s community and way of life.
The birth of Christina, a name steeped in history
Conradie’s journey with Van Loveren coincided with the launch of a new ultra-premium tier. What began as a cellar experiment in 2009 grew into the Christina Collection, a range named after the Van Loveren family’s matriarch Christina van Loveren, who arrived in South Africa in 1699 from Holland.
Christina’s story remains central to the family’s identity. Married to Willem van Zyl, she became the progenitor of the Van Zyl lineage in South Africa. When Hennie Retief senior purchased Goudmyn F farm in 1937, his wife Jean van Zyl (a descendant of Christina) persuaded him to rename the property after her ancestor. The motivation was personal and symbolic: Christina’s bridal chest, made of Philippine mahogany, had been handed down through generations. Jean bought it from her aunt for £45, and it still stands proudly in the Van Loveren tasting room today.
Conradie herself suggested the name “Christina” for the collection, a modern adaptation that both honours history and signals elegance. The range has since grown into a showcase of heritage and finesse, with barrel-fermented whites and reds, a ten-year-old potstill brandy, and, at its sparkling heart, the acclaimed Christina Cap Classiques.
Cap Classique craft: hands-on from vine to glass
The Christina Cap Classique Brut NV has achieved a string of high-profile accolades, including 96 points and gold at the 2025 Decanter World Wine Awards as well as double gold at the 2024 Veritas Awards.
Conradie attributes its success to an uncompromising, detail-driven approach. Grapes are picked by hand in mid-January from older Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vines, harvested at 19 to 20° Balling to retain freshness. In the cellar, skin contact is allowed in the press, with free-run juice gently extracted before the two cultivars are fermented separately. The wines remain on the primary lees for nine to ten months, gaining weight and texture, before being blended with a portion of the previous vintage to add depth and complexity.
The base wine is then bottled for secondary fermentation, where it spends 19 to 20 months on lees, and up to 22 months for the Brut Rosé, with the bottles hand-riddled regularly during this time. This slow, hands-on process results in wines of remarkable finesse. The Chardonnay contributes minerality, acidity, and staying power, while the Pinot Noir lends fruit, dimension, and mouthfeel.
The Brut NV shows a poised balance of sugar and acid, with flavours of red apple, lime, lemon peel, and biscuit buoyed by soft, fine bubbles. The crisp finish makes it both an ideal aperitif and a versatile companion to fresh oysters, sushi, seafood, strawberries, and fruit-based desserts.
Strength through collaboration
Conradie highlights the advantage of working within Van Loveren’s expanded portfolio, which now includes top properties such as Landskroon, Neil Ellis Wines and Survivor Wines. These acquisitions bring together some of the finest expertise in the industry, fuelling innovation and growth across the group while allowing each brand to maintain its distinct identity.
“In the end,” Conradie reflects, “hands-on is the name of the game – it always has been, and always will be.”
Discover the Christina Collection
Taste the Christina Cap Classiques, wines, and brandy at the Van Loveren tasting room in Robertson.
Or click HERE to shop online