WeeklySA_AdminMILESTONE: The Franschhoek winery celebrates 25 years of winemaking at South Africa’s culinary capital…
By Len Maseko
Life needs more sunny days and Chardonnay, someone once mused over a glass of wine made from the same French noble grape as it warmed the cockles of his heart at the time.
An apt tribute to the most popular white wine grape in the world – renowned for its versatility and capacity to express the character of any terroir its seed takes root. Invariably frowned upon by the ABC (anything but chardonnay) brigade, but still a great source of immeasurable pleasure and fascination to its loyal millions entranced by its allure.
Nonetheless, Chardonnay keeps its shine in the glass wherever appreciated voluminously. And none the less so in South Africa where, in spite of pockets of barest welcomes elsewhere, it dazzles palates with elegance and earthly goodness to no end.
Thanks to the scores of prolific and impassioned winemakers of the grape in the Cape winelands, Chardonnay romantics are never short of their fix – but only spoilt for a choice in the maze of its bountifulness.
In the milieu of the Cape’s Chardonnay lore, the wineries have religiously made the varietal the centre of their winemaking universe – an intractable choice single-mindedly driven by their passion for its alluring quality.
Among these wineries, nestling in the picturesque Franschhoek Valley, a destination much vaunted for its status as South Africa’s culinary capital and home to boutique wine farms, is GlenWood Vineyards.
Tucked away between the Franschhoek’s mountain range, GlenWood is one such sconce that has adopted Chardonnay as its crown jewel – and even going so far as wearing its passion on its sleeve by emblazoning its entrance with a proud proclamation, “Home of Chardonnay”.
With the message on the gate loud and clear, it is hard not to imagine GlenWood’s interior reeking with the aromas of Chardonnay no sooner entering the glorious location of this off-the-beaten-track vinous sconce.
Actually, ensconced in the midst of the beauty of the valley, everything begins to make sense of why management consultant Alistair Wood was bowled over by the magnificence of the place 40 years ago. While out about – and much ado about nothing – in the backwoods of Franschhoek’s Robertsvlei Valley way back in 1984, Woods would experience something of an epiphany while perched on a koppie known as Nature’s during a trail-hiking.
Looking over the valley from the vantage point, Wood literally saw the future beckoning right before his eyes. He was completely entranced by the spectacular views of the Robertsvlei Valley surrounded by the Franschhoek Mountain range. So enamoured that he made an offer to purchase the pristine undeveloped farmland in the heart of nature.
The rest is history. What started as a dream eventually resulted in full winemaking. With no farming background and only a bean-counter reputation to his belt, Wood recruited a youthful “DP” Burger to partner with him to realise his dreams.
Today, 25 years later, the two struck a formidable team, resulting in DP becoming an integral part of the GlenWood journey. Their winemaking journey began with the decision to plant Semillon, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz and Merlot. From the very start, Wood committed to making conserving nature part of the wine farm’s mission, for which he was rewarded with the WWF Conservation Champion Award in 2024.
No sooner had they started, the pair recognised that they needed to focus on a specific cultivar for sustainability, christening the farm as “Home of Chardonnay, Franschhhoek”, to seal their mission.
And Chardonnay it was they set their minds to and soon claimed their space as a Chardonnay destination of distinction. As a result, wine lovers began to trickle to the farm and, for their troubles, leaving the farm with their eyes; palates and soul whetted when they depart.
As a Chardonnay oasis, visitors not only get to taste a rainbow of the genre – from unoaked to opulently wooded type crafted with passion and meticulously – but also relish it with the accompaniment of the sumptuous sushi served at the in-house restaurant.
From the winery’s 2023 Grand Duc Chardonnay (R750), which instantly makes a bold, luscious statement on the palate, no sooner it lands on the unsuspecting palate – thanks to DP’s deft nurturing of the wine on the lees for 20 months in 100% new 500L French oak barrels, a rite of passage responsible for its utterly voluptuous essence.
In the mid-tier range, the Vigneron’s 2024 Collection Chardonnay (R360) is a serious contender for an aristocratic place in national Chardonnay stakes.
Having spent eight months on the lees in 30% new French oak and 70% second and third fill barrels, it sizzles with splendid palate – as does the next-tier unoaked 2025 offering (R170) with its youthfully robust poise. Thanks to DP, all their tiers brim with fresh fruit and hardly cloy as a consequence of balance and intricate oaking style. Over the last 40 years, GlenWood has evolved into a well-rounded entity, having its own cellar, a sushi restaurant, growing and exporting fynbos, while blending harmoniously into the scenic and sedate countryside rich with panoramic
