Winemakers On Fire, Issue #118

Greetings from Cape Town, South Africa!

This week, I'm sitting down with Rianie Strydom, a Cape Winemakers Guild member who believes the best moment in winemaking isn't winning awards—it's watching someone's face light up when wine suddenly makes sense. After three decades crafting exceptional wines from Burgundy to the Helderberg, Rianie has built her reputation on a radical idea: fine wine should invite people in, not keep them out.

From her family's Stellenbosch vineyards to her role as Head Winemaker at Cavalli Estate, Rianie reveals why South Africa's wine moment is now, how she translates terroir through patient blending, and what passing the torch to the next generation really means.

Here’s where it gets interesting.

The Winemaker Who Sees Joy in Every Glass

Here's what Rianie Strydom has learned after three decades in cellars from Burgundy to the Helderberg: the best moment in winemaking isn't winning another award or nailing a perfect blend. It's watching someone's face light up when they suddenly understand why a glass shape matters, or how tannins work, or what oak does to wine.

"The smile on faces is priceless," she tells me. "In our hearts, all winemakers want to see that joy."

This philosophy—that wine should invite people in rather than keep them out—runs like a golden thread through everything the Cape Winemakers Guild member has built. From her family's Stellenbosch vineyards to her recent appointment as Head Winemaker at Cavalli Estate, Rianie has spent her career dismantling the velvet ropes that too often surround fine wine.

When Opportunity Knocked, Fear Didn't Answer

The Strydom family story began with a plot of land across the road from Morgenhof Estate, where Rianie and her husband Louis were living while she worked as a winemaker. They managed the neighbouring property in their spare time, and when the ageing owner decided to sell a portion perfect for grape growing, something clicked.

"Being two young winemakers—growing up on a farm and Louis always dreaming of owning land—this triggered the idea to one day make our own wine," Rianie recalls. "At that moment, I believe we were more excited about the opportunity than thinking of any consequences."

That leap from employed winemaker to land-owning entrepreneur captures something essential about building authenticity in wine. The best stories aren't manufactured for marketing departments; they're born from genuine passion colliding with possibility. Louis now handles viticulture while Rianie transforms his work into wines that capture their origin's personality—a perfect collaboration anchored in shared vision and complementary skills.

Burgundy Taught Her What Stellenbosch Couldn't

Early in her career, Rianie worked the 1996 vintage in Burgundy, followed by time in Saint-Émilion. Three decades later, she still draws on what those French cellars revealed.

"For a young winemaker, it's important to experience as many vintages as possible and in as many places as possible," she explains. "It shapes a thought process and exposes you to different techniques."

But the real education went beyond winemaking mechanics. In those small Burgundian villages, she discovered something that South Africa is only now fully embracing: how wine can be woven into daily life as naturally as family itself.

"Thirty years ago, the way they made wines seemed so natural, with perfect ripeness on reds and whites and balanced acidities," she remembers. "In the small villages of Burgundy, everybody associates with wine as if it were one of their best family friends. The lifestyle with wine is something you should not underestimate."

That understanding of wine as a companion rather than a trophy has shaped her approachable philosophy. Quality and accessibility aren't opposing forces—they're partners in creating experiences that resonate.

The Guild That Lifts Rather Than Weighs

Both Rianie and Louis are members of the Cape Winemakers Guild, an honour that places them among South Africa's winemaking elite. But ask her about the pressure of that distinction, and she flips the narrative entirely.

"Yes, there are high expectations on the wines we put on auction, but I do not feel it is a weight we are carrying," she says firmly. "It's more of an opportunity to push the boundaries for quality as well as experiment at a high level."

The Guild's international tastings have become her benchmark for understanding just how far South African wine has travelled. Tasting alongside iconic global wines creates knowledge that directly informs her craft—and confirms what she's long believed about the Cape's potential.

The mentorship flows both ways. "It is a great privilege through the Protégé projects to meet and get to know a new generation of winemakers," she adds. "As members, we get more from it than what we probably can ever put in."

"It is emotionally uplifting to realise we as a country are really at a very good place understanding our abilities, soils, climate and varietal offerings," she notes. The freedom to experiment without Europe's rigid varietal legislation has unleashed creativity across South African cellars, allowing winemakers to match grapes to terroir with scientific precision and artistic flair.

South Africa's Moment Is Now

When Rianie declares there's no better time to be part of the South African wine scene, she's not indulging in patriotic hyperbole. She's reading signals that the international market hasn't fully processed yet.

"We have a bunch of very talented winemakers who have gone out in the world and made their mark there as well as in South Africa," she explains. "Through this, they've played an integral role in pulling the image of South African wine to another level."

But the transformation runs deeper than individual reputations. The industry has fundamentally shifted its approach to viticulture, transitioning from a mass production mindset to a strategic varietal placement based on soil, climate, and microclimate. Old vineyards are being revived with newfound respect for their genetic heritage and site expression.

The result? South African wines are commanding higher prices while still delivering extraordinary value to increasingly knowledgeable consumers. These aren't bargain hunters; they're educated drinkers ready to trade up for quality and authenticity.

"We create curiosity through the freedom we have in the styles we can produce," Rianie says. That positioning—quality meets innovation meets value—is textbook perfect for the evolving global wine market.

The Blender's Patient Art

Ask Rianie about her distinctive approach to winemaking, and she reveals a meticulous process that would make many producers anxious. During harvest, she creates as many individual batches as possible, building a library of flavour components. Then comes the real work.

"Once it gets to creating the final product, I take a lot of time blending in the lab," she explains. Blends stand for up to seven days before final decisions are made. I try to create an environment to see how long the wine will age, which gives a good indication of bottle ageing."

This patience extends to oak integration. Her philosophy is simple but increasingly rare: if the vintage can't handle new oak without being dominated by it, save those barrels for next year. "Always respect the fruit you are working with," she says.

It's this commitment to quality grapes and precise winemaking techniques—letting the vineyard speak through thoughtful intervention rather than heavy-handed manipulation—that anchors everything else.

Passing Fire to the Next Generation

Jean-Louis, the eldest of the Strydom children, has joined the family business after completing vintages in Portugal, Argentina, Sonoma and Marlborough. For Rianie, it represents both continuity and welcome evolution.

"He definitely has a good sense of what he wants to achieve and where he sees the style needs to go, which is very much in sync with the new generation of wine drinkers," she says. "We listen and we guide, I would say, and give advice with a little fixing here and there."

His arrival freed Rianie to accept the Head Winemaker position at Cavalli Estate—not a distraction from family wines but an expansion of what she loves most.

"To be honest, I am just so happy that I can have the opportunity to make more wine," she admits. "I love it so much."

The Conversation Starts in the Vineyard

When Rianie talks about capturing terroir, she's not engaging in mystical wine-speak. Her process is grounded, tactile and observant.

"The idea of translating the soil literally starts in the vineyard, sampling the blocks," she explains. "I prefer sampling the vineyards myself before harvest. Just looking at the growth of the vines and surface of the soils, walking along the rows, and of course tasting the grapes starts shaping the final wine in my head."

By the time fruit arrives at the cellar, she already knows what each batch needs to express its site. It's the kind of intimate vineyard knowledge that only comes from showing up, paying attention and listening to what the land reveals.

Standing in Stellenbosch with global ambitions, Rianie Strydom embodies perfect positioning: exceptional fruit handled with precision, authentic experiences that invite rather than intimidate, compelling stories earned through decades of craft, and collaborative relationships spanning generations and continents.

Most importantly, she never loses sight of why any of this matters—those moments when understanding dawns and faces light up, when wine stops being intimidating and starts being joy.

Let’s dive into the stories that have been fermenting since our last newsletter...

Why Your Best Wine Isn't Selling—And How to Fix It in 90 Days

Here's an uncomfortable truth I've witnessed across 25 years in the wine industry: the wineries making the best wine aren't always the ones making the best money.

Drive through Stellenbosch on any weekend and you'll see it playing out in real time. Two neighbouring estates, same terroir, same Mediterranean sun, comparable winemaking chops. One commands R600 a bottle and has customers queuing at the cellar door. The other struggles to shift cases at R250.

The difference is never in the bottle. It's always in the positioning.