Jacques Viljoen & Greg Guy: Boschendal, South Africa's 340-Year-Old Wine Farm
The South Africa Series, Episode 1.
Boschendal celebrated 340 years of winemaking history last year, and its wines sell in more than 70 countries. According to Greg Guy, America is still the missing piece.
Recorded on the estate in the Cape Winelands, Matt Weiss talks with Boschendal cellar master Jacques Viljoen and Greg Guy, who leads international sales for DGB. Jacques explains how cool-climate Elgin and its shale soils shape Boschendal's Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, where the gunflint character comes from, and how he brings in complexity with barrels, sites and malolactic fermentation. Greg talks about Cap Classique against Champagne, the South African brands that rose and fell in the US, and why real stories matter to younger drinkers. Jacques also explains why Cabernet Franc is the X factor in Boschendal's blends, by way of a Springbok wing breaking through the line.
Jacques Viljoen has been cellar master at Boschendal since 2018, after 16 years as winemaker at Zevenwacht. DGB has owned the Boschendal wine business since 2005. The estate sits in the Drakenstein Valley between Stellenbosch and Franschhoek, on land first granted to French Huguenot Jean le Long in 1685.
Coming up in the South Africa Series: Taaibosch and De Toren.
Mentioned: Boschendal Cap Classique, Boschendal Elgin Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, the Helderberg, DGB, KWV, Beachhouse, Fairview Goats do Roam, A.A. Badenhorst, Champagne, Prosecco, Meursault, Corton-Charlemagne, the Springboks and the All Blacks, Nelson Mandela.
GLASVIN
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FEARRINGTON HOUSE
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Boschendal Wines: boschendalwines.com
Instagram: @boschendalwines
The Wine Centric Show: winecentricshow.com