CWG Dewaldt Heyns Family Wines Shiraz Reserve 2021

About the Wine Estate

Having grown up on a grape farm in the Paardeberg, Swartland, Dewaldt has always had an intimate relationship with the vine. After completing a diploma in Cellar Technology at Elsenburg Agricultural College in 1995, he was appointed viticulturist/assistant winemaker at Rust en Vrede, which greatly influenced his winemaking and viticultural philosophy. In 1999, he took up the position of winemaker at the newly established Avondale, where he gained invaluable experience in successfully establishing a new wine farm, as various accolades attest. The opportunity to hone these skills presented itself in 2004 in the form of Saronsberg, Tulbagh, where he was appointed general manager/cellar master. This proved to be a winning combination, with Saronsberg performing constantly at the highest level. Saronsberg has received numerous awards since 2004, its maiden vintage, and produces some of South Africa’s most consistently awarded Shiraz and Rhone-style blends – a testimony to both the region’s and Dewaldt’s affinity for Shiraz. In 2022, Saronsberg received the inaugural Bernard Podladshuk Trophy at the Shiraz SA Challenge, awarded for the best overall performance by a producer over the ten years of the Shiraz Wine Challenge. Apart from study trips to various wine-growing countries, Dewaldt completed harvests at Dry Creek Vineyards, Sonoma and Domaine Cave Yves Cuilleron, Condrieu. He also obtained his MBA degree cum laude from the Stellenbosch University Business School in 2021. In 2023, after successfully completing 20 years at Saronsberg, Dewaldt joined Iwayini, a subsidiary of Les Grand Chais de France which acquired Neethlingshof and Villiera, as Managing Executive.