Rustenberg – the South African Soul of Wine

Your father Peter Barlow took over the traditional winery Rustenberg in 1941 and ran it for 46 years. In 1987, you took over the management of the Wine farm. Is this over 70-year-long relationship and connection to “Rustenberg” a cornerstone for your success story?

For my father, making wine was a hobby and he had his own oenologist. Unfortunately, he passed away in 1975 and my mother took care about the winery until 1987. I studied agricultural management and I started my way in the wine world through learning by doing. Already in 1980 there was a chance and I bought my own vineyard and in 1987 I took over the Rustenberg vineyard from my parents. Of course this long relationship to “Rustenberg” is part of our success.

What role does the “tradition” play for the barlows?

Tradition and continuity is what our customer expects. We make traditional wines.

Which are the main grape varieties and how many hectars wineland do you cultivate every year?

We concentrate on the international grape varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay and Sauvignon blanc. Actually we take care about 112 hectar and we plan to expand to 125 hectar within the next 5 years.

Which are the values Rustenberg is committed to?

It’s the uplift of the people of our staff. We are about 56 people. And I think the nature because it’s quite a big property and keeping the nature. The sustainability is important for the nature and for us. You see the bottles, it has a sustainable sicker. Nature is really very important, not doing anything that is going to harm the next generation.

There are so many top producers in South Africa! Why should the customer opt for your wines?

Good question. I think it’s continuity, and we have been around for a long time, We are well known and what we strive for, is perfection. We really work hard. Every wine is “perfect” when it comes out of the winery. It’s quite hard sometimes, but people know what they going to get. The customer must know from year to year what he is going to get. I think that continuity has a big impact.

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Let us talk for a moment about South Africa’s interesting and exciting wineries in general. Which are the five most important producers, each wine lover must have visited during his stay in your country?

Hamilton Russel, is definitely one. It is one of the most southerly wine Estates in Africa and one of the closest to the sea. You will find them in the beautiful, cool, maritime Hemel-en-Aarde Valley appellation, just behind the old fishing village of Hermanus. The Estate specialises in producing highly individual, terroir driven Pinot noir and Chardonnay, which are widely regarded as the best in South Africa and among the finest in the New World.

Tokara winery is another one. The Tokara estate offers visitors a unique combination of award-winning wines, brandy and olive oils, a gallery of fine art, a Top-restaurant and sculptures. A visit is a must.

Then I would like to mention Groot Constantia. The Groot Constantia Wine Estate is the oldest wine-producing farm in South Africa, slightly older than our Wine Farm. The entire estate has been declared a national heritage site, while still being a fully operational farm. Due to this unique blend of history and modern industry, it has a huge variety of activities for guests to indulge in.

De Morgenzon means “the morning sun” and this winery is a beautifully situated Stellenbosch estate, with vineyards ranging from 200–400 m, on the slopes of the Ribbokkop. It was bought in 2003 by Wendy and Hylton Appelbaum, and since then it has risen to become one of Stellenbosch’s star properties. In particular, the De Morgenzon Reserve Chenin Blanc is one of South Africa’s leading examples of this variety, in my opinion at least. You know, DeMorgenzon Reserve Chenin Blanc won The International Chenin Blanc Trophy for three years in a row at The International Wine Challenge in London.

Not to forget Newton Johnson. Newton Johnson Vineyards is owned and managed by the Newton Johnson family. The farm is based in the upper Hemel en Aarde Valley near the seaside town of Hermanus, an hour and a half’s drive out of Cape Town. I mention them because, the Newton Johnson Family Vineyards Pinot Noir was selected by Decanter as one of the top 3 Pinots in the world outside Burgundy. This is a wine that has also received 5 stars in Platter’s for every single vintage submitted since 2009. They have really fantastic Pinot Noir.

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In 2017, your company produced nearly one million bottles of wine. What are the forecasts for 2018?

The answer is simple. We will stay at the same level.

In which countries do you export? How important are the German-speaking countries of Switzerland, Austria and Germany?

We expand to a lot of countries, I can’t contribute how many they are. United Kingdom is the biggest market. We are going now also via Hong Kong to China, so far China is not a big market. Europe is very important. German speaking countries, Switzerland, Germany and Austria are very important markets. And one of the nice thing is people drink our wines and want to visit South Africa.

You are leading the company for 30 years. How do think about the growth of the winery in these three decades?

It has been very exciting. When I took over in 1987, we produced about 60,000 bottles of wine per year. What I did in 1987, was buying 300,000 plants from France and planted it on our vineyard. And that really allowed us to grow.

You were born 1956 and have accompanied the introduction of many processes at the winery. What has developed positively or negatively in the last three decades?

We utilized the land better and better and the staff benefited from it. The growth was difficult because we did not have the financial resources first. But …great dynamics over the last 30 years.

We wish you to stay fit for a long time. Nevertheless, you must think of the succession in time. When do you want to give the primary responsibility to your son?

My son Murray has been been working for several years in the company and he has already taken the responsibility. We share the office, but I am slowly stepping back. We talk to each other every day. I am happy to see, that he is doing his job very well.

We have now your “2009 Peter Barlow Cabernet Sauvignon” in the glass. Why did you name the wine after your father? And what can you say about the wine?

What does Simon Barlow think about when he does not think of Rustenberg? What is the most important thing in life for you?

My family of course. My family comes first. And then my hobbies, one of them is beekeeping and of course walking in the vineyards is very nice. Also very important is to keeping ahead of the modern technologies, I am learning to fly the vineyards with the drone. And then I enjoy the photographs from the drone. That is pretty cool.

Simon, thank you so much for the interview.