Van Zyl du Toit

Du Toit, who hails from Riebeek Kasteel in the Cape's Swartland region and comes from a winemaking family - he practically grew up in the cellar where his father used to work. He has a special interest in white wines and headed up Simonsig's sparkling wine team renowned for its Cap Classique award winners.

Du Toit, who hails from Riebeek Kasteel in the Cape's Swartland region and comes from a winemaking family - he practically grew up in the cellar where his father used to work. He has a special interest in white wines and headed up Simonsig's sparkling wine team renowned for its Cap Classique award winners. He loves Chardonnay and believes that the importance of creating heavyweight, 'proudly South African' Chenin Blanc should not be overlooked either.

As the newly appointed winemaker his focus will be to grow the volume of the estate's best wines by a gradual process of refining and tweaking every step of the winemaking process. "Attention to detail throughout the winemaking process is the key to producing excellent wines. The smallest detail, whether in the vineyards or in the cellar, can have huge impact on the final result in the bottle. Our wines are not the cheapest - what we want is to be the best in our price range."

Du Toit predicts that Pinotage and Chenin Blanc, both truly South African cultivars of which the local industry should be justifiably proud, are conducive to creating great wines and he will be focusing intently on both these trademark varietals in the future.

One of the first tasks Du Toit set himself on joining the Allee Bleue team was overseeing the planting of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir with a view to create an elegant All?e Bleue Cap Classique.

"We've got an excellent team and a fantastic infrastructure both in the vineyards and in our state-of-the-art cellar, so why not take the wines to the next level?" says Du Toit. With such enthusiasm and passion for his craft and for his new winemaking home, Van Zyl du Toit seems all set to shift Allee Bleue wines into the limelight in the not-too-distant future.