Wine and the centuries–old art of winemaking is certainly in Rolanie’s blood, considering that she was raised in the vineyards surrounding Paarl where her family resides on their own wine farm. Her exposure to wine making from an early age piqued her interest and after matriculating from Paarl Girl’s High in

1998, she attended Elsenburg Agricultural College where she completed a Diploma in Cellar Technology in 2001.

This was followed with employment at Simonsvlei where she kicked–off her career as a cellar hand. She soon found herself in the position of Assistant Wine Maker and promotion to Wine Maker followed shortly after. Rolanie left Simonsvlei at the end of 2006 when she was given the opportunity to take up the position of Wine Maker at Rhebokskloof. This she says, gave her the chance to concentrate on smaller scale estate wine making where the art is a more personal involvement as opposed to that of the larger commercial enterprises.

Although wine making is often viewed as a predominantly male pursuit, Rolanie says she has never experienced problems in this regard during the course of her career. She has worked hard to get where she is today and feels that she has earned the respect of her male counterparts. Rolanie’s expertise and interest lies in the blending of wines, which she says is about personal taste and experimentation until the perfect blend is achieved. Knowing what her market demands from a wine helps her to create personal blends that is often dependent on the type of season experienced by Rhebokskloof and the quality of the gathered during her career, but says that the greatest award is seeing her wines selling well and being enjoyed, which is the biggest compliment she says she can possibly receive.

Rhebokskloof specializes in Rhone grape varietals to produce Shiraz. Rolanie says that such varietals are bestsuited to the area. When it comes to white wine, Rolanie specializes in Chenin and Chardonnay, but also produces Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier. Rolanie likes to be involved in the entire process related to wine making, saying she enjoys a close relationship with the vines and that they and the barrels are like her children. Her barrels are important to her, saying she only uses imported oak barrels that provide her wines with a classic flavour.

Rolanie and Rhebokskloof produce three ranges, the first being their Reserve that boasts the Black Marble Hill Reserve Syrah, which is aimed at the higher end of the market and has won a Gold Medal in France. This wine has also reached the Top 10 of the Paarl Shiraz Challenge. Next up is the Estate Range followed by the Pearlstone Range that Rolanie describes as the estate’s easy–drinking range. Rhebokskloof also produces two sparkling wines, namely Method Cap Classique that is traditionally French and Tamay, a normal sparkling wine. Rolanie’s wine making career has already taken her to Australia to get some exposure to their wine making methods and she still intends to visit France to further her experience.

This local Paarl wine maker is certainly making her mark in the Boland and further a–field and we wish her all the success she deserves as she places herself firmly on the South African wine maker’s map.