South Africa · Wine Region
Stellenbosch
Stellenbosch sits in the shadow of dramatic mountain ranges, barely fifty kilometres east of Cape Town. Cooling breezes sweep in from False Bay, tempering the summer heat and giving grapes the slow, even ripening that builds complexity. While the region built its reputation on bold Cabernets and Bordeaux blends, its cooler pockets, particularly those exposed to Atlantic influence, are proving increasingly hospitable to Pinot Noir. Granite-based soils add mineral depth, and the sheer diversity of mesoclimates across these mountain-fringed valleys means Stellenbosch can deliver finesse just as convincingly as power.
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Producers in Stellenbosch
Ernst Gouws & Co
The Gouws family's roots in the Cape stretch back over three centuries, their ancestors arrived as French Huguenots in 1691. Ernst Gouws himself trained at Germany's Weinsberg Wine School in the 1970s before honing his craft in Champagne and Bordeaux through the 1980s. After fifteen years developing some of the Cape's most respected private estates, he established Ernst Gouws & Co in 2004, purchasing sixty-six hectares of land on the Stellenbosch Wine Route. It's a true family affair: wife Gwenda manages the commercial side, while daughter Ezanne and son Ernst Junior, both trained winemakers at Stellenbosch University, are carrying the family's winemaking tradition into its next generation. Ernst's philosophy is unashamedly French: the vineyard comes first. Every wine begins with the conviction that site and soil determine quality, and the winemaker's job is to honour that.
