Cape Town - Coming of age describes Ken Forrester Vineyards beautifully, embracing the pleasing results of 21 years of determination, ambition and talent. It marks the next stage of an enterprise: a mature family, a heritage home and, above all, a range of products that present fine proof of an investment that was not without pitfalls.
Ken and Teresa Forrester can relax as they reflect on their decision to sell their Joburg restaurant in 1993 and move to the Cape.
Drawn to the beauty and lifestyle of the Helderberg winelands, they invested in a historic, but dilapidated farmstead and 50 hectares of vineyards. Politically, the country was on a knife’s edge and, for some, packing for Perth was in full swing. But, with support from friends, Ken produced 200 cases of sauvignon blanc in time to toast the new South Africa. It was a small but significant start to an operation that broadened to include a country restaurant and, more recently, a guest house.
Ken invested heavily in chenin blanc well before the renaissance of the Cinderella grape and, as his passion for this cultivar grew, so did the quality of his wines. His chenin range embraces simple and sophisticated, wooded and dessert, along with a cap classique to celebrate the awards – local and international – that have flowed to Winery road.
Forrester was also prescient when he turned to unfashionable Mediterranean cultivars. Having hunted down old vineyards of grenache and mourvèdre, he blended them with shiraz to produce wild, exciting reds.
Weekend Argus