Thorne & Daughters produce Cape blends and single vineyard wines, using grapes sourced from 15 growers in Bot River, Stellenbosch, Voor Paardeberg, Swartland, Citrusdal, Franschhoek and Overberg. John and Tasha did not want to be limited geographically, so the net was cast wide and driven by “a happy synergy of people, place, soil and vines”. As John puts it, he aims to look for vineyards which combine these four elements and seeks to do these vineyards justice in the cellar. Each relationship is unique, but where possible, they apply the ‘lutte raisonnée’ approach to farming, working closely with growers to help eradicate the use of chemical herbicides and fungicides, and to build “thriving” soil health.

John and Tasha’s approach to vinification is relatively simple. For the white wines, they generally work without additions. The wines are fermented using indigenous yeasts in old French oak barrels, ranging in size from 225 to 600 litres, where they remain during malolactic fermentation. The white wines then tend to stay on their lees until blending, which takes place in the November following the harvest.

Their flagship wine, ‘Rocking Horse’, blends Roussanne, Semillon, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc and Clairette from several parcels around the Western Cape. All the Thorne & Daughters’ wines provide an honest expression of place, showing the incredible variation of sites and grapes to be found within the Western Cape.