Winners of 2017 Diners Club Winemaker of the Year announced

Diners Club 2017 Winemaker of the Year Christiaan Groenewald (Eagle's Cliff Wines) and Young Winemaker of the Year Wade Roger-Lund (Jordan Estate) with their trophies.

The 2017 Diners Club Winemaker of the Year judges

• William Predhomme
• Carrie Adams
• Debi Van Flymen
• James Pietersen
• Michael Crossley
• Nomonde Kubheka
• Ntsiki Biyela

Winemaker of the Year

Groenewald, this year’s Diners Club Winemaker of the Year (Pinotage category), delighted the judges with his Eagle’s Cliff Pinotage 2017. This is the second time he has been honoured with this distinguished accolade, having won Winemaker of the Year in 2013 for his Arendskloof Voetspore Tannat Syrah 2011 (Non-Bordeaux Red Blends category). Groenewald is one of only five winemakers to have won this award twice.

Groenewald grew up on the family farm in the Breede River Valley where his father grew wine grapes, so he was exposed to the wine business from a young age. He obtained a degree in Agriculture and an MBA in Business Administration at Stellenbosch University, worked as an agricultural economist, a financial planner and managed a wine export company before returning to the farm on the death of his father. He built a cellar in 2005, where he makes the Eagle’s Cliff range of wines.

Young Winemaker of the Year

The 2017 Diners Club Young Winemaker of the Year, Roger-Lund, received his award for the Jordan Blanc de Blancs Méthode Cap Classique 2015 (White Wines category).

Roger-Lund was born in Worcester but grew up in Johannesburg. His passion for wine came through his uncle, John Loubser, cellarmaster at Steenberg and MCC maker of Silverthorn. Roger-Lund studied winemaking at Elsenburg where he excelled. After travelling to France and working harvests in many parts of the Cape, he joined the Jordan winemaking team in December of 2014 and has been a huge asset. He was given a top Chardonnay vineyard to make the first Cap Classique under the Jordan label, which was released in 2017 to great acclaim, winning Roger-Lund the 2017 Young Winemaker of the Year Award.