Forrester began making wine just over a decade ago. In 10 years, production has zoomed from an initial level of 400 cases to some 85 000; now he’s known the world over as Mr Chenin Blanc, because it’s his work with South Africa’s oft-despised most widely planted variety, that has raised his profile as a winegrower.
Eleven years ago he purchased a derelict wine farm, which hadn’t been lived on for some six years. This was when the industry was in the doldrums, and like a skilled surfer he caught the South African wine industry’s wave of expansion almost perfectly.
Now, the picture perfect vineyards beneath the Helderberg Mountains are testimony to the quest for perfectly ripe fruit and show the commitment and attention to detail, that is required for benchmark wines in this day and age of immense competition and much improved quality.