Dirk Coetzee, Winemaker, L’Avenir Estate, Stellenbosch (South Africa)

Years in the Industry:
12 years of winemaking experience, including vintages in Australia, California and France. I have been the head winemaker for more than ten years at the boutique, Stellenbosch Pinotage and Chenin Blanc specialist, L’Avenir Estate.   
 
My Biggest Challenge To Wellness:
I grew up in the small village of Hoekville, in the Knysna Forest on South Africa’s Garden Coast. Exploring mountains, cycling and especially surfing has always been an important part of my life. With South Africa’s strict lockdown regulations, I haven’t been in the water for 41 days now and it’s something that I really miss.
The same applies to travelling, which is an important part of being in the wine industry. Meeting new people and seeing new places energises me and I cannot wait to get on a plane again!

In the larger scheme of things, I am, however incredibly fortunate to be able to walk around on L’Avenir Estate. The reality in South Africa is that there are millions of people that are confined in shacks, without knowing where their next meal will come from. The pressure of retaining jobs on farms is real. As the winemaker, making sure that L’Avenir’s farm worker community is nourished and healthy has become a key priority.

How I Keep It Together To Stay Well:
My daughter, Bea, has played an important role for me to maintain a long-term perspective. A silver lining of the lockdown is that I have been able to spend more time with her. My wife, Jana, is a geneticist and both of us have demanding, full-time jobs. Parenting has therefore been both a challenge and a blessing!

Basic activities like chopping wood (South Africans love a braai and using gas or charcoal is a sin!) and gardening have become therapeutic routines. I’ve also always had a deep appreciation for music, which has now become even more important.
New challenges associated with Covid-19, such as presenting virtual tastings, have been quite exciting. It’s just not the same as being present to do a tasting and we try to do things differently. It offers the opportunity to focus on the essence of L’Avenir – the vineyards. I have especially presented several virtual tastings in our heritage certified old vines Single Block Chenin Blanc. We call her the old lady and she is even impressive on Zoom!

You can connect with Dirk on Instagram at @DirkJacobusCoetzee