Riaan Oosthuizen
We helped Riaan when he needed it...so we get his cracking cool climate Sauvignons for peanuts
- Double Gold Veritas Award 2004
- Gold medal at the Swiss International Airline Wine Awards 2006
- Silver Award at the International Wine and Spirit Competition 2005 and 2006
Riaan Oosthuizen's Story
Riaan Oosthuizen's Story
"Winemaking is about having the right attitude towards vines and nature. It's about creating something special from raw materials..."
"I grew up on an ostrich farm in the Karoo (semi-desert climate). My father (ostrich farmer) always had a keen interest in wine, and was also a grape producer at the local cooperative wine cellar. He also made his own �house wine� in an old shed on the farm. When I was a child, I always used to taste these low quality wines and therefore did not like wine very much!
I went to Stellenbosch to study computer science, but after my first wine tour as a student to various wine farms on the Stellenbosch wine route, I changed my course after just two weeks to viticulture and winemaking. I guess the sight of lush green vineyards as far as one could see, and tasting the different flavours of different varieties and wine cellars got me hooked. It was a new world to me, there was actually good wines out there, and I wanted to learn all about it and make my own good wine!
Winemaking is about having the right attitude towards vines and nature. It's about creating something special from raw materials, and the best thing for me is getting to create something new every vintage. I also love the fact that wine brings people together � my wife and I got better acquainted over a bottle of wine, and much better after the next one...!
My advice to other winemakers? It is important to know your vineyard, and more important to do the right thing at the right time in the vineyard and cellar. It is a no compromise business for me; only the best wine should go to bottle; selection through tasting grapes and wine is key; using good winemaking tools (blending, yeast selection, barrel selection, etc.) at the right stage of production."
