Thys Louw has just spent a frosty Cape morning in the vineyards. “The guys are doing the winter pruning, it’s important for me to be there. I like to be involved in every aspect of the business.” Now in this book-lined study the sixth generation winemaker reflects on his family’s legacy. “There aren’t that many family owned, generational estates left,” he muses. The number he guesses is around 15.
Diemersdal Wine Estate though, Diemersdal isn’t going anywhere anytime time soon.
In fact this Durbanville sauvignon blanc powerhouse is going from strength to strength. “We harvest close on 3000 tonnes of grapes and produce about three million bottles annually,” shares Louw. This includes a substantial range of white and red wines with eight different sauvignon blanc offerings, including a Noble Late Harvest.
A lot of this success can be credited to Louw’s innovative practices as well as his holistic approach to the business. He’s involved in every facet. Don’t let his laidback, gentle persona fool you, he has a mind like a steel trap and is always thinking about the next strategy. Just this morning, after being satisfied with the pruning work, he was out in Darling where Diemersdal has now bought a new cellar facility, which will become an extension of the flourishing family brand.
“It’s the cellar of my dreams,” he says laughing. “It has all the bells and whistles!” Another project that’s currently occupying headspace for him is a new range of experimental wines. “We’re always experimenting in the cellar, but the wines generally just get blended away, we now want to bottle some of the successes.”
“I should have studied chartered accounting,” he half jokes. Louw grew up on his family’s sprawling estate where the Louws have been making wine since 1885; a childhood spent getting to know every tree, every vine. He attended the local high school after which he studied agriculture at Wellington College.
“I was always going to go and farm on Diemersdal, but I knew I first had to experience working at other wineries.”
This included a stint at Buitenverwachting in Constantia. “It was a great place to learn about white wine. Buitenverwachting’s legendary winemaker Hermann Kirschbaum was an important mentor for me.”
“He taught me that one can produce quality white wine at scalable volumes with the right viticultural as well as cellar practices in place.”
Louw says this had a ‘major influence’ on him when he started working at Diemersdal in 2005. His goal was to ensure the farm’s 200ha of vines delivered volumes of premium wines that make wine farming profitable. “Wine is art, but can’t survive if it is not a business.”