De Wet Viljoen was raised on a wine farm in the Breede River Valley and attended Stellenbosch University where studied oenology and viticulture after obtaining a BSc in microbiology. Before returning to South Africa, De Wet worked for two vintages at Kendall-Jackson's La Crema cellar in California.
His background moulded him into the perfect, passionate connoisseur to become the Neethlingshof winemaker in 2003.
At the Neethlingshof Wine Estate, he forms part of a close-knit team with Professor Eben Archer, our estate's highly regarded consulting viticulturist who was also ironically one of his lecturers while studying. Having been in charge of eight vintages grown on our estate's Stellenbosch Winelands, he understands which types of wood complement his wines best in expressing a unique "sense of place". In his view, if the wines don't have a distinguishable character, there's just no sense in bottling them with a Neethlingshof label! He strives for complexity in his wine and for balance between fruit and structure and the between fruit and wood; to create a deeply satisfying taste experience for you, every time.