Danie de Wet
Long after he's gone, Danie de Wet's deeds will be remembered - and planting those first few Chardonnay vines on his Robertson estate will be one of them.
In 1993, years after the scandal had died down, the De Wetshof Finesse Chardonnay won him the Diners Club Winemaker of the Year accolade.
"It was a big surprise when we won.
"To be perfectly honest I didn't even know we'd entered! All credit to my wife, Lesca, for going ahead, but I honestly thought that the judges would have gone for a heavier, fuller style of Chardonnay."
The name Finesse sums up everything Danie was striving for when making this wine. According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary finesse is defined as "refinement and delicacy; subtle skill in handling".
"I want to pay respect to the word 'finesse' with this wine."
And the award could not have come at a better time. It was a fillip which De Wetshof desperately needed.
Danie broke away from The Bergkelder in June 1992 and went his own way. But there was a year long restraint of trade agreement during which he was not able to market his wines locally.
It was just a few weeks after the ban expired - in June 1993 - that his selection as the Diners Club Winemaker of the Year was announced. As with most awards, orders flooded in and they were well on their way.
He recalls that the wine was barrel fermented but treated lightly.
"I took it out (of barrels) in May before going to the London Wine Trade Fair and bottled it in Worcester in July. We didn't have our own bottling line at that stage.
"But the thing I remember most is that it was a beautiful wine."
Danie is a product of Jan van Riebeeck high school in Cape Town but studied at the Geisenheim Institute in Germany's Rhineland immediately after matriculating.
That explains his affection for German wines and Riesling in particular.
But way back in 1977 he planted Chardonnay vines and in 1980 produced 1000l.
"1981 was the first time we produced a commercial amount of Chardonnay - 14 000l."
A lot of experimentation was done with barrel fermentation, malolactic fermentation, wooding and so forth.
He regards 1983, when he and Lourens Jonker spent three weeks in Burgundy, as a turning point - but his frustration mounted as the days went by.
"We were just not getting the technical knowledge we needed - not because they didn't want us to know but very often because they didn't know why they did something. It was simply always done like that!"
On the second last day they were invited to lunch by Louis Latour himself. This frustration was discussed during the tasting that preceded lunch. Mr Latour took matters in hand. The afternoon's appointments were cancelled and they spent an intensive few hours with various technical people discussing soils, clones, techniques and research.
"It was the most valuable experience of the entire trip. He also introduced us to a professor in Dijon who was a clonal expert.
"That was one of the most fantastic days I've ever had. It was where the mist and clouds were penetrated and I started to see the light - specifically for Chardonnay."
He recalls how Sydney Back, who played an influential role in shaping Danie's career, said that Chardonnay would "bring us back to making wine the way it's supposed to be made".
As a student at Geisenheim in the late 60s and early 70s Danie says the emphasis was on machines and technology in winemaking.
"In the 80s it swung back to the grape and the vineyard. That's how we've come to appreciate this notion of terroir."
But Danie is no stranger to accolades or honours. In 1987 his 1985 De Wetshof Chardonnay Superieur was judged the top wine at Vinexpo in Bordeaux, pipping 900 other wines for the trophy.
I asked him what it felt like.
"There's no way of describing it. It's like nothing else. Initially you can't believe it - but the next morning when you wake up and it comes back to you, you are floating a few feet up in the air."
As mentioned Sydney Back played a major role in shaping Danie's future.
"He taught me about wine politics."
That's why Danie became involved in all the various organisations, to play a role in shaping the future of the entire industry - to drive people (kicking and screaming if necessary) to a point where South Africa can take its place in the international market.
He does it because he enjoys it, he believes he has a role to play and he's not afraid of criticism.
"I enjoy it because it means that people are thinking and questioning things."
And when he's not fulfilling KWV duties or being the Veritas Chairman?
He used to hunt but not any more.
"I like quiet time and nature - space."
Where many people seek solace in social activity or even a church, Danie heads for the river.
"That's my haven. I go everyday if possible. It's so peaceful being surrounded by nature. That's where I think and work out problems."
His only other revelation is that the annual seaside holiday is something of an ordeal!
"I don't like the seaside. I go because Lesca, Johan (16) and Pieter (18) enjoy it. Yes, it is time spent together as a family - but I usually take a lot of work with me, and come back to the farm a few times a week to check on things."
