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Matthew's Story
"I was born in Paarl, smack bang in the centre of the South African Winelands and as such I was literally surrounded by wine as a kid. After finishing school I had fun working with wine bottling and marketing, but I was always drawn to the art of winemaking and knew it was the career for me
Wine, woman and song lead me to follow an apprenticeship in biological winemaking and farming in Geneva, Switzerland. I worked in the Northern Hemisphere, the Southern Hemisphere, I made big Shiraz Blends in the South of France and some lovely Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in Sonoma, California. I also spent some time in the Barossa Valley and South Australia.
These endless summer travels were great times and a massive learning curve for me but my practical knowledge seriously outweighed my academic knowledge so I duly completed a winemaking degree.
Trying in vain to cure the travelling bug in my system I went to New Zealand to observe their Sauvignon production before returning to South Africa. Here I was appointed senior winemaker to Welbedacht, my practical knowledge certainly came in handy as my first job was to design and build the cellar myself!
I have been with Vondeling for the last two and half years and I am searching for the almost perfect wine. A tiny flaw in a wine serves as the window through which we view all the other salient features of the wine. Alternatively, to quote Leonard Cohen: 'It’s the cracks that let the light through'
Let the wine be your master. Scientifically I prefer to be minimalistic. I prefer to judge and interpret the flow of the wine. Chemical analyses are momentary and often confuse your decisions. You should have a relationship with the wine so that you can interpret its needs and desires. I love the fact that winemaking is a complete process. It begins with the earth, flows through the seasons and enters the lives and thoughts of people. It links me to the earth and to it's people at the same time."
