From Old to New
There are few people in my career in wine who have made a first impression like Anton, the maker of our Reserve Pinot Noir and Reserve Merlot. A big man with teddy bear energy, Mahlon noticed immediately that he was missing the tip of one finger. Kind and clever, Anton told us the story of the clamp that took it while we tasted through his portfolio. Everything about him speaks to experience.
“Tell me about your winemaking philosophy,” I asked as we sat under the pergola, shaded from the bright sunshine. A stark contrast to the 4ºC it was back home in Hye, Texas.
“I walk the rows,” he started, “and taste.” Anton explained that he prefers to judge the developing flavors himself rather than rely on lab work to make decisions. It takes experience, confidence, and skill to know what a grape needs to taste like on the vine for it to become the desired wine in the glass. Much harder than blind tasting a finished wine, it requires harvesting the same block year after year and paying close attention to what you’ve made of it.
This kind of winemaking has been part of South African wine for decades. Experience. Confidence. Knowing what each vine delivers to the resulting wine. It only comes from planting vines and tasting them over thirty or forty years of production.
We’re honored to have winemakers like Anton in our portfolio. His skill and dedication are remarkable. But next, we wanted to visit the places and winemakers who are moving South African wine forward.
Placing New Roots: the new guard in South African wine
The next day shifted our focus from generational history to the new guard shaping South African wine right now.
Rolanie Lutz is a young female winemaker, and the brains and brawn behind our MCC Brut Reserve Blanc de Blancs magnums. We arrived early to the venue, nearly empty at that hour, and had to hunt for Rolanie in the production area. We found her cat first, asleep across papers on her desk, before finding Rolanie herself, already deep in work, cleaning tanks and preparing for the imminent harvest.
We started in the vineyards, checking on the Chardonnay used for the sparkling base. The grapes were delicious straight from the vines, vibrant, sweet, bright, and alive with promise for the resulting wine. No bird nets here either, a detail that by this point felt like a quiet flex compared to the constant battle we fight in Texas. As we walked the blocks, Rolanie talked about her approach.
“Let the grapes speak for themselves,” she said, tasting another grape from the clusters. It’s a simple philosophy, but one that only works when the farming and site do the heavy lifting.
Rolanie walked us through a comprehensive tasting of her portfolio, and everything was delicious. A graduate of Stellenbosch University, she not only knows the theory, she lives it daily. Though the property in Paarl is large enough to host weddings and events, she is the only winemaker, doing most everything herself with only seasonal help in the cellar.
When we say our wines are hand crafted, Rolanie represents the hands that craft them. Her expertise, professionalism, and literal blood, sweat, and tears bring these wines into existence.
Those same decisions, patience, restraint, and respect for site, are what people taste when they visit our Hye vineyard, even if they don’t yet know the full story behind the bottle.
Off the Beaten Path: on to Walker Bay
After a brief stop at Kanonkop, the vineyard that put Pinotage on the world map, we continued the long drive toward Walker Bay.
The road twisted along False Bay, the coastal winds pushing the car as we stopped at overlooks to take in the view. The GPS warned us of wildfires ahead, a reminder that even in paradise, nature and human complexity coexist. As we neared Walker Bay, the coastal winds shifted, and rain had extinguished a fire burning less than ten kilometers from the vineyard.
We stayed overnight near the water, walking the coastal trail and breathing in the salt air. It reminded me of the windswept Oregon coast where Mahlon and I grew up, rugged, beautiful, and quietly powerful. It’s the kind of landscape that slows you down, much like the pace we encourage at our Texas Hill Country winery back home.
The next morning we met Anneke, one of the first female winemakers in South Africa. You could tell immediately that she had earned her place. Still in rubber boots from the vineyard, she greeted us with a firm handshake, the kind perfected over years of breaking through glass ceilings. Her wines, however, were the opposite of forceful. They were elegant, restrained, and precise.
The cool sea breeze defines everything here, especially Sauvignon Blanc. Anneke walked us through the cellar, pulling samples straight from the barrel and tasting the next vintage of our Sauvignon Blanc still resting in tank. The wine showed classic grassy notes and bright acidity, a style rooted in old European traditions, shaped unmistakably by the coast.
While we were there, a neighbor arrived in a bind. His press was down, and his Pinotage for a rosé needed to be processed immediately. Without hesitation, Anneke offered help. Trucks were redirected, settings adjusted, and we processed the fruit as whole clusters. I climbed onto the truck to help dump crates, grateful for the reminder that, whether in Texas or South Africa, when harvest comes, everyone shows up.
That same spirit of collaboration and showing up when it matters is what we aim to carry into every wine tasting in Hye and Fredericksburg, Texas, where the experience is meant to feel personal, grounded, and unhurried. Two locations, one great experience.
What this means when you visit our Hye vineyard or Main Street Fredericksburg tasting rooms
If you’ve ever wondered why a wine tastes the way it does, the answer is rarely found in a tasting notes. It lives in places like Robertson, Stellenbosch, Paarl, and Walker Bay. In vineyards shaped by wind and soil, and in the hands of people like Robert, Anton, Rolanie, and Anneke.
When guests visit our Hye vineyard, they’re tasting those decisions translated into a Hill Country setting. A wine tasting in Fredericksburg, Texas isn’t just about what’s poured; it’s about understanding where the wine comes from and why it was made the way it was.
This trip wasn’t a vacation. It was a working trip sourcing across Robertson, Stellenbosch, Paarl, and Walker Bay to:
• Taste upcoming vintages of our core whites, especially Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc
• Pull barrel samples of key reds and confirm direction before bottling decisions get locked in
• Evaluate sparkling base wine decisions, including profile and tasting notes
• Strengthen relationships with the exact people who make the wines you bring to your table
When you open a bottle with us in the Texas Hill Country, we want it to feel like what South African wine does at its best: bright, layered, alive, yet complex and unflinchingly honest.
And we want you to feel something else too: confidence.
Because we were there. We walked the rows. We tasted the grapes. We asked the questions. We tasted the wines. We walked the unbeaten path, followed the coordinates, and found the unmatched boutique wines that make Coordinates Vineyards special.
After all, it’s hard to get there, no matter the seats.
These gems are available for wine tasting at our Hye and Fredericksburg locations, with more on the way. Drop in for a tasting, a glass, or take your favorite bottle home, and toast the winemakers and vineyards we’re proud to partner with.
As it says on our labels: “Our passion is partnering with boutique winemakers to bring you a remarkable tasting experience in Texas.”
