From three generations of winemaking stock, Adi was destined to be the best. Time in the Rhône, New Zealand and as winemaker at Rustenberg polished his talent before he (along with his cousin) brought his humble vineyard in the Paardeberg complete with gnarled vines and a run-down winery. He is now one of the leading players in ‘The Swartland Revolution’, a group of pioneering young winemakers, including Eben Sadie, Chris Mullineux and Marc Kent, making wines from the amazing raw materials that are part of the Swartland’s grape-growing legacy - a legacy that dates back centuries.
There are few young winemakers in South Africa that haven’t benefitted from his mentorship. This furry-faced whirlwind can be such a big personality – one of those ‘force of nature’ types – that people forget just how brilliant a winemaker he actually is. Adi makes wines to drink. His Secateurs range has become a benchmark for quality and price, and form the cornerstone of his range. The Family Red & White are more serious wines, field blends that reveal all of the subtlety and nuance that the Swartland has to offer, and show in beautiful detail just how amazing Swartland’s old vines can be. Recently, Adi has started experimenting more with small parcels of vines to produce special cuvées of varietal wine. These cuvées are made in very small quantities, showing off the subtler charms of Cinsault, Palomino, Steen (Chenin Blanc) and Grenache.
“My winery looks like a Taliban bomb shelter. The most expensive thing we have is our coffee machine” – Adi Badenhorst
