Hannes Nel

Cellar Master
Lourensford Wine Estate
Hannes Nel grew up in the small town of Moorreesburg, about 70 km outside Cape Town. Growing up in the countryside established a love for nature which undoubtedly adds to his strength as a winemaker today. Hannes joined Lourensford in 2002 after completing his pre-graduate degree and M.Sc in Microbiology cum laude at the University of Stellenbosch.

Hannes Nel grew up in the small town of Moorreesburg, about 70 km outside Cape Town. Growing up in the countryside established a love for nature which undoubtedly adds to his strength as a winemaker today.

Hannes joined Lourensford in 2002 after completing his pre-graduate degree and M.Sc in Microbiology cum laude at the University of Stellenbosch. In 2005 he travelled to Italy to work at the Manincor winery in South Tyrol as a visiting winemaker. At Manincor he was impressed by their practice of minimal intervention in the winemaking process, which ensures that the wines stay as close to nature as possible. This approach is still central to his winemaking philosophy today.
  
He started as microbiologist at Lourensford and was in charge of running the quality control department which included the laboratory. His growing interest in wine resulted in him being appointed as winemaker with special focus on white wines in 2008 to cellar master in 2013, overseeing the total winemaking process. In the past five years his creative approach towards winemaking has secured an impressive 82 awards for Lourensford.
 
His vision is to make top quality wines from perfectly balanced vineyards, and he strives to create wines that are both elegant and complex. He is very passionate about South Africa's unique biodiversity and aims to incorporate this potential and competitive advantage in his wines.

On a more personal note: Hannes has an innovative and creative spirit, as illustrated by some of the products he has developed for Lourensford like the Estate's unique Honey Liqueur. He also has a natural talent for creating perfectly paired food-and-wine delights, enjoys photography and has written articles that have been published in wine columns and outdoor magazines.
 
Hannes finds his energy from within and is content to spend long hours on his own. He is an adventurous soul and can often be found on a bicycle in the mountains or in a tent beside a lake. On the other hand, he is also a team player and loves talking to people about his passions - the most important of which is, of course, wine.