Diner’s Club toasts its Winemaker of 2019
NITIDA’S winemaker, Daniel “Danie” Keulder, has been named 2019 Diners Club Winemaker of the Year for his 2017 Nitida Pinot Noir.
This award is presented to the winemaker who produces a wine the judging panel considers the best in a specified class. The category for 2019 Winemaker of the Year was Pinot Noir.
Keulder – who received R50 000 as part of his win – joined the Nitida team in December 2014 after making wine for five years at Groot Constantia.
He studied at Stellenbosch University and achieved a BSc Agric Viticulture and Oenology.
Then he did his MSc in oenology on commercial tannin additions and their influence on red wine quality.
He answered some questions over a glass of – what else? – Pinot Noir.
How does it feel to be named Winemaker of the Year?
Pretty good and humbling. Making wine is a team effort, so thanks to the Nitida team we’ve managed to bring this prestigious trophy home
What is your philosophy about winemaking?
Every winemaker has his own approach, but you always need to get the basics right; the planning is just as important as the plan; your footsteps are the best fertiliser for any project; and winemaking is not the making of, but the expression of, the terroir.
Aside from this latest award, what would you consider your greatest achievement as a winemaker?
The launches of three new highend products at Nitida: The Golden Orb Sauvignon Blanc, The Tinkery (an experimental label) and The Grande Matriarch MCC have to be right up there! Other than these recent releases, the recognition and awards from the wine industry players has been great.
Have you been influenced by any particular winemaker or wine region?
I think it’s very important to learn and ask advice from as many other winemakers as possible. There’s one winemaker I need to mention and that’s Boela Gerber at Groot Constantia. It is where I learnt all the basic philosophies and techniques.
What do you enjoy about your job and being part of the Nitida team?
It has to be drinking wine at 8am! Jokes aside, harvest time must be the most fun time of the year, when all the planning from the previous year comes together.
What would be your recommended food pairing with your award-winning 2017 Nitida Pinot Noir?
On the back label we recommend pairing the wine with a wild mushroom risotto. I’ve also done an ostrich steak with cherry compote at home that works very well, thank to the wine’s jubilee of strawberries, liquorice and flambé cherries on the palate.
Any idea as to how you will be spending your prize money?
Part of the prize is a return trip to any winemaking region in the world, so the prize money will have to go towards spending money for the trip. At the moment the destination changes from day to day between Burgundy and New Zealand.
What is something other people might not know about you?
After my university studies, I was lucky enough to take a gap of three years making beer at a microbrewery in England. After that it was full-time winemaking and then meeting my wonderful wife, Julie, and – a little later – three additions to our family, which has all enriched my life.
Final word?
For the future I’d like to keep on making wines that I love drinking and hopefully spend a couple more harvests in European cellars.
Nitida is in Durbanville. This family-owned and run cellar is one of the most consistently awarded and loved boutique wine cellars in the country. Visit https://nitida.co.za.