Nederburg – Quality and Pioneering Spirit

The South African winery Nederburg is located several kilometres northeast of Paarl and is one of the best-known and worldwide most popular wineries from the Cape. Philippus Bernandus Wolvaart – also called ‘Anchorman’ – purchased a 49 hectare plot of land from the Dutch East India Company in 1791. There, he built the nowadays heritage-protected manor house in a Cape Dutch style. Between the rivers Berg and Palmiet, the Nederburg farm idyllically nestles up to the surrounding landscape. In 1937, Johann Georg Graue started running the winery and introduced new cultivation and production methods such as cold fermentation which soon turned out to be pioneering for the South African wine industry. With his pioneering spirit and the courage for innovation, he laid the basis for a tradition Nederburg is still following today. From the end of the 1940s onwards, his son Arnoldus – also called ‘Airhawk’ – had managed the wine production and introduced sterile bottling in order to ensure excellent wine of the highest quality. The cellar master Günter Brözel held this position at Nederburg for 33 years and became a wine legend of the 20th century. Every morning, he drove through the vineyards with his bike to check on the vines which gave him the nickname ‘Motorcycle Marvel’.

The Heritage Heroes Collection from Nederburg

Since 2015, Andrea Freeboroug is the current cellarer at Nederburg and in the honour of the founding fathers of Nederburg, the so-called Heritage Heroes, she continues the work of her ancestors. Numerous awards, medals and other distinctions speak a clear language and confirm the quality of the winery. She constantly gives proof of her ingenuity (also the name of the wine range). Andrea continues the Heritage Heroes Collection which is a homage to the heroes of the winery and was created by Razvan Macici in 2012: the Anchorman Chenin Blanc is named after Philippus Wolvaart, the Brew Master after Johann Graue for his expertise and inquiring mind, the Beautiful Lady Gewürztraminer after Johann’s wife Ilse Graue, the Airhawk Sauvignon Blanc is named after Arnold Graue and the Motorcycle Marvel after Günter Brözel.

‘Respect the Fruit’

Since year one, the winery’s philosophy has been that good wines are created on the vineyard and not by complicated cellar technology. Andrea Freeborough´s philosophy can be best described with ‘respect the fruit’. Her aim is to get the best out of the grapes by as few and gentle measures as possible. The consequent implementation of this philosophy makes Nederburg one of the leading wineries in South Africa. No other South African producer has won as many national and international awards. The wine cultivation area Paarl is located approximately 50km away from the coast which is why the cooling sea breeze is missing and it is comparably hot and dry; nevertheless, the Mediterranean climate ensures perfect conditions for cultivation at Nederburg.