The Jordaan family's proud tradition of making wine from South Africa is passed down from generation to generation and is run by current winemaker Andries Jordaan, along with his cousins Wagner and Flippie, in the third generation at Theuniskraal.
In the early 17th century, Theunis Bevernagie settled in a fertile valley guarded by the towering Witzenberg and Winterhoek mountains and fed by the Klein Berg river. Its name should be enshrined in local wine lore, because in 1927 Theuniskraal was purchased by the Jordaan family specifically for winemaking. In 1948, Andries Jordaan released the winery's first Riesling - and a South African icon was born. The Theuniskraal Riesling won gold at the Commonwealth Wine Show against international competition. Andries' sons, Kobus and Rennie, continued the tradition of fine Riesling and expanded the planting to include other classic varieties, both white and red. Today, her sons Andries, Wagner and Flippie continue the family's hands-on, quality approach to winemaking.
The vineyard blocks are located at an altitude of 240 m above sea level with a slight south-facing slope. The plantings are mainly carried out on stony, sandy, loamy soils. The terroir for planting vineyards in this area is very rocky and demanding, requiring thousands of tons of boulders to be removed or crushed to create ideal conditions. Natural farming methods are harmoniously combined with the latest technology to get the best out of each vintage. A sophisticated drip irrigation system with probes to measure soil moisture supplements natural rainfall during the dry and warmer summer months. Three weather stations on the farms are used to predict possible disease outbreaks in the vineyards and ensure that spraying of the fields is minimized.
