Danie Steytler
South Africa
Danie's Wines
- South Africa
- 3Â wines
- 2Â styles
The hidden jewel of Stellenbosch
Danie is a rare gem in South Africa. He’s the 4th generation of a family winemaking dynasty. His grandfather was one of the first to plant Pinotage in South Africa and their Chenin Blanc vineyard is the second oldest in the country.
After working in wineries all over the world, Danie returned home to work for his family business. Some of South Africa’s most prestigious wines are made from his family’s grapes, which big wineries queue up for.
His good friend Johan Kruger says "he’s got everything – the land, the fruit, the talent, the awards, the quality wines, and amazing potential". Now, with Angels behind him, Danie will finally get his own name on the label.
Danie Steytler's Story
Danie's Story
I was born on our family farm in Stellenbosch South Africa and am now the 4th generation winemaker running Kaapzicht. You can say i was born onto wine. Growing up on the farm i used to help my dad in the vineyards and cellar. I made my first wine at the age of 12 and have loved it every since. It was just the natural route for me.
I qualified as a winemaker at University Stellenbosch in 2004 and since then I've done 22 vintages over 16 years. This is possible when you travel the world and do 2 vintages north and south for a few years before i started as winemaker on our own farm in 2009.
Most winemakers will tell you that good grapes makes good wine. We take loads of care and put allot of passion and love into our farming. Along with the fact that i won't bottle anything i can't drink myself - I hopefully provide something which is special.
I'm proud to be South African and love everything which makes us us! Rugby, braaing, Chenin and Pinotage is what we are. I also love Cabernet Sauvignon and in Stellenbosch: Cab is King!
One of the most painful winemaking stories for me was back in 2010. Our best vineyard of Cabernet went to new barrels and spend 2 years in Oak. While we were emptying these barrels and pumping it from the barrel cellar to the tank someone forgot to check the racking valve and when the job was done we had last 7000L of beautiful Cab. More than the financial lose it was really sad as i thought it was one of the best wines i had made until that point.
Even after 4 generations finance and cash-flow remain our biggest hurdle. Wine which are great need to be sold in bulk as we don't have money to bottle them. Now i have a platform where the Naked team can taste them and i can get the money to bottle them.
