Simonsig Wine Estate is synonymous with the history of the South African wine industry, the Stellenbosch wine region, and the Malan family name. In this episode of Carrie’s Corner, wine connoisseur Carrie Adams speaks to Johan Malan – the receipt of The 40th Diners Club Winemaker of the Year Award for 2020. His father, Frans Malan, produced the first bottle of the much-loved Kaapse Vonkel – one his many pioneering approaches to the South African wine industry. Johan tells the story of his father’s legacy. – Nadya Swart
Johan Malan on his family history:
My father actually grew up in Wellington on a wine farm there and went to school in Cape Town at Jan van Riebeeck [High School]. So he was already used to the big city from a young age, and when he finally got to Stellenbosch University he studied winemaking, viticulture and enology. During that time, his father died at a very young age. So an uncle of his told him that he must rather sell the farm, because he can always b
We take so much for granted these days – rotisserie chickens in the supermarket, avos and strawberries all year round (even if it goes against nature but we pay for the privilege anyway), not running out of toilet paper, road signs directing us to wine farms…
None of this was always the case; when Stellenbosch Wine Routes was established in 1971, those familiar brown and white signs with the farms’ names pointing us to the entrances – and upon which we partly rely, along with GPS apps (and given my recent feuds with Google Maps, the physical signs are essential), to find our destination – were prohibited. Apparently, the municipality thought they would distract drivers and affect their ability to keep control of their vehicles. Which is laughable now, considering cellphones. And the proportionate number of idiots on the road 50 years later.
A Chardonnay vineyard in Napa Valley / Getty
One of the most planted varieties in the world, Chard takes root in vineyards with breathtaking vistas from Australia to Italy. To help transport you while you sip, we rounded up some of the most beautiful Chardonnay-growing regions around the globe. Why not pour yourself a glass and take it all in?
Chardonnay vineyards in Champagne, France / Alamy
Champagne, France
It’s almost a shame that the wines of Champagne are so stunning, we often neglect to talk about the place itself. The chalky, white-soiled Côte des Blancs is planted primarily to some of the most sought after Chardonnay in the world. That its gently rolling hills dotted by little villages are so unassuming is part of its allure. Sunrises and sunsets over that placid landscape are also not to be missed.