AGRICULTURAL NEWS - Wine grape cultivation was traditionally a sideline for farms in the Swartland, with the majority of grapes produced being sold in bulk.
Then, in 2011, a group of farmers came together to form the Swartland Independent Producers (SIP), a production and marketing organisation designed to unlock the Swartland’s unique wine-making potential.
Since then, the region, which stretches from Durbanville and Paarl in the south, to the Berg River in the east, and the Atlantic coastline to the west, has gained global renown for its top-quality Chenin Blanc, as well as its red Rhône varietals such as Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache noir, Carignan, Cinsaut and Tinta Barocca.
Chris Mullineux, a founding member of SIP, recalls that he realised the region’s wine-making potential while working at a boutique winery in Tulbagh.
“The winery, Tulbagh Mountain Vineyards (now Fable Mountain Vineyards), bought grapes from all over the Western Cape, and I was always amazed by the great quality and intensity of wines produced from Swartland grapes.”
International experience
After a five-year stint at Fable, Chris worked as a winemaker in California in the US, as well as in France, where he met his future wife, Andrea.
Andrea is an international award-winning winemaker in her own right, with the US magazine, ProductionWine Enthusiast, naming her its 2016 Winemaker of the Year.
A native of San Francisco, she studied oenology and viticulture, has worked at wineries in the US and Europe, and is a member of the Cape Winemakers’ Guild.
