Our Origins: Douglas Green - The Man

The illustrious Douglas Green. As an Elsenburg graduate and a qualified viticulturalist and winemaker, Douglas Green had a reputation for his very fine palate and astute tasting abilities. In 1916 his service in the Royal Navy placed him in Europe, and after the First World War he lived and worked in the Champagne region of France where he gained valuable experience, and brought the "first bulk sparkling wine fermentation process" to South Africa.

As an Elsenburg graduate and a qualified viticulturalist and winemaker, Douglas Green had a reputation for his very fine palate and astute tasting abilities. In 1916 his service in the Royal Navy placed him in Europe, and after the First World War he lived and worked in the Champagne region of France where he gained valuable experience, and brought the "first bulk sparkling wine fermentation process" to South Africa.

Douglas Green began his business with the purchase of the Forrer brother's Stukvat liquor business in Paarl's main road in 1938. Recognised as South Africa's first true negotiant wine producer, he bucked conventional wine trends and ignored regionalism in favour of quality and price. Traversing the Cape winelands seeking out first-rate vineyards and cellars, he sourced grapes and wine to blend in his top quality range of wines. It was not long before this progressive approach established Douglas Green wines amongst the most reliable quality and affordable wines in South Africa.

By 1942, his label was famed for its superiority and consistency year after year. His progressive approach established Douglas Green wines at the forefront of fantastic, affordable lifestyle wines in South Africa.

Today, Douglas Green wines capture the character and the vibrancy of the Cape. For over 65 years, people from around the world have come to appreciate that beneath every cork lies the taste of the good life, in all its diversity.

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