Johann De Wet and the Genesis of Chardonnay in South Africa

On today's show and the first in a 2 part series on South Africa, Mark and Jessica start off with a quick conversation with Danya Declusin, owner of Cape Bottle Room, a wine shop and tasting room dedicated to 100% South African wine.  They get into what the US consuming public is gravitating to in the South African Category.

Next, they dig into the De Wetshof Estate in Robertson with Johann De Wet.  The De Wetshof family has been making wine in the Cape since 1693.  And, after making wine in a variety of other regions, they settled in Robertson to focus predominantly on Chardonnay.  Johann's father was the first to bring Chardonnay cuttings into the country at first illegally, but a landmark court case that ruled in the De Wetshof favor actually spurred a renaissance of new varieties being brought into South Africa. 

As a disclaimer, De Wetshof is imported to the US by Broadbent Selections, the company with which Mark is employed.

Links:

De Wetshof Estate: https://dewetshof.com/

Cape Bottle Room: https://www.capebottleroom.com/

The Wines of South Africa by Jim Clark (One of the most comprehensive resources for South African Wine today)