Bartho Eksteen - Winemaker

Bartho Eksteen is the Winemaker and a Director at Hermanuspietersfontein Wingerde, Hemel-en-Aarde Village, Hermanus.

He makes world-class wines in a well-equipped cellar using only the highest quality grapes from a single farm were he controls the entire process from vineyard to cellar to ply his craft and passion under seamless conditions to deliver wines of distinctive style and character.

He graduated from Elsenburg Agricultural College in 1987 with a diploma in Pomology, Viticulture and Cellar Technology after which he entered employment in the Co-operative wine industry. After a few years, he felt a calling to specialize in Sauvignon Blanc and left the co-operative industry to take up employment at Wildekrans, a private producer near Bot River in the Walker Bay, a cool wine region of the Western Cape.

Here he honed his craft and received many prestigious awards, amongst which SA Champion Young Wine in 1996. Bartho eventually set out on his own and produced his first Sauvignon Blanc under his own trademark, Bartho Eksteen, from 1998, and continued producing many excellent vintages (who can forget the 2003 Premier Choix!), upgrading to Hermanuspietersfontein Wingerde when the opportunity arised In 2005 he and Johan and Mariette Pretorius became partners and Hermanuspietersfontein Wingerde was born. Through very selective participation in wine shows, this new Cellar has gathered an impressive list of accolades from among others, SAA, British Airways and Swiss International Airlines listings. 4 and 4 1/2 stars were awarded in the John Platter Wine Guide (2005 to 2009), as well as a SA Terroir Award in two consecutive years (2008 and 2009), amongst others.

Bartho instituted the Sauvignon Blanc Celebration in 1993 because of his passion for the cultivar. He wanted to determine firstly where South Africa was positioned on the world scene and, secondly, how his own wines were faring against the rest. He expand the format of the Celebration in 2009 to include the Workshop where experience and knowledge of this amazing wine- and grape cultivar can be shared. This year sees the 18th annual Celebration (Fri 05.11.2010), indeed an occasion not to be missed!