Charl Theron, a veteran South African oenologist and a mentor to generations of winemakers and cellar workers, has this week passed away at the age of 80.
Charl was honoured with the Viti- and Viniculture Award at the 2026 Wine Harvest Commemorative Event. With experience of over 50 years in wine production, education, and consultation, he was honoured for bringing invaluable academic and technical expertise to the South African and international wine industries.
Having obtained an MSc degree in Oenology, Theron served as lecturer and later as chairperson of the Department of Viticulture and Oenology at Stellenbosch University. He was also a member of the advisory committee of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology.
In the wine industry itself, Theron held various positions at KWV over a long association with the organisation. Branching out in later years, he was a founder member of VINO FINO Oenological Advice CC, CEO of the Cape Vintner Classification, and served on numerous professional societies and industry committees. He was a founder member of the Wine Appreciators organisation for the training of wine lovers, and founded cellar workers' study groups in wine districts.
Theron's expertise is pervasive throughout the South African wine industry. His legacy lives on in the hundreds of articles he wrote on wine, and the seminal book he published last year, Die Basiese Beginsels van Wynbereiding.
Messages of condolences to Charl Theron's loved ones
"My liewe oom Boeta, dis was n groot skok om te verneem van oom se skielike afsterwe. Oom was altyd daar vir 'n paar woorde, altyd raad gehad en insig gegee. Selfs in tye van my ma se siekte was oom altyd daar. U was nie net' n oom maar ook 'n vriend, 'n waardige man na wie ek kon op sien. Sterkte aan Altus, Annemarie, Michelle en Marguerite. Ek sal Oom baie mis, maar gun Oom die rus en vrede by Onse Hemelse Vader." - Charl Schoeman
"RIP Charl Theron, KWV icon winemaker, wine scientist and technical expert. His expertise in SA oenology was unsurpassed. Fortunately his legacy lives in his hundreds of articles on wine and a seminal book he published last year." - Emile Joubert