Kristin Basson

Well-travelled, with ample experience gleaned from post graduate studies and participating in harvests abroad, Kristin Basson has made Die Bergkelder her home as winemaker of Fleur du Cap’s white wines.

Well-travelled, with ample experience gleaned from post graduate studies and participating in harvests abroad, Kristin Basson has made Die Bergkelder her home as winemaker of Fleur du Cap’s white wines.

A Masters graduate in International Vintage from Ecole Supérieure d’Agriculture made possible by a two year Erasmus Mundus scholarship from the European Union after graduating from Stellenbosch University with a BScAgric in Viticulture and Oenology, makes Kristin a true asset to the Fleur du Cap team.

Her post graduate endeavours allowed her to study and travel through the vineyards of France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Hungary. Kristin’s time abroad saw her working in cellars, learning about viticulture, winemaking, the economy of wine, wine marketing and becoming fluent in French.

In her final Masters project, she was given the rare opportunity to apply her full theoretical and practical knowledge by becoming part of a team to plan, equip and construct a new winery in the southern Rhône valley, France together with the creation of a completely new wine brand.

Even with her impressive academic credentials and international experience, Kristin has never been afraid to get her hands dirty and immerse herself in every aspect of the winemaking process.

"I wanted a career that would excite me. Wine elicits a very powerful emotional reaction in me. When I remember a great wine, it is always somehow bound up in more than its sensory properties. It evokes a very particular time and place," says Kristin.

After completing her Masters in 2011, Kristin worked as a junior winemaker at Terres des Amoureuses in France. Upon her return to South Africa in 2014, she became the assistant red winemaker at Nederburg.

Kristin’s perspective on a sense of place and time perfectly embraces Fleur du Cap’s philosophy of Regional Excellence.

Inspired by nature and harking back to more traditional, hands-on winemaking practices, the Fleur du Cap winemaking team manages to unlock the natural expression inherent in the best grapes from select parcels of vines grown in a diverse range of locations. Each area is selected for its unique combinations of soils, climate, aspect and orientation that is best suited to the particular varietal throughout the Western Cape.