BELINDA VAN EYSSEN
South African-born winemaker Belinda van Eyssen runs sustainability-driven wine brand The Cutting in the Barossa Valley with her viticulturist husband Daniel McDonald.
What were your formative years like? I grew up on the outskirts of Cape Town – a melting pot of cultures with a rich history of wine production. Neither of my parents finished school and their greatest wish was that their children aspired to be more than they could.
What drew you to the industry? I was never exposed to wine growing up. Alcohol had a negative connotation in our community and wine was for the elite. So, a life in wine was never on my radar. The chemical analysis I had to perform on wines as a newly qualified food technologist drew me into the intriguing world of winemaking. I found myself accepting a role as a vintage intern in California; a role that would ultimately lead me to Australia.
When did The Cutting launch and how has it evolved? When we made the first wine from The Cutting vineyard in 2014, it was one barrel of shiraz in an uninsulated shed. The quality was so good we kept going. After a few years of becoming known for our style of shiraz, we started exploring with old vine grenache and cinsault.
What have been the biggest challenges in your winemaking journey? Overcoming stereotypes in the world of wine for me proves to be an ongoing challenge, which started during my time in the South African wine industry. I felt like I was constantly fielding questions like “Yes, I'm an Indigenous female South African and yes, I can make wine”.
What needs to be done better in the wine industry? When I entered the Australian wine scene after working in South Africa during a transformative period, I questioned why there were no Indigenous Australian winemakers, people like me? Twelve years later, the question remains. We cannot ignore that we farm and benefit from Aboriginal land that was never ceded. In my experience, transformation is complex and requires committed ongoing efforts to break down the barriers that prevent us from even starting a conversation.
Any hot tips for people visiting the Barossa? Shawn and Briony Kalleske at Laughing Jack have a great new cellar door and make fantastic wines. For dinner, one of our favourites is FermentAsian for world-class Vietnamese cuisine and an amazing wine list. A new addition to the Barossa is Otherness in Angaston. For accommodation, the newly refurbished The Louise is superb along with the onsite Appellation restaurant.
the-cutting.com.au