South Africa · Darling

Saurwein

Jessica Saurwein makes cool-climate Cape South Coast wines from Waterval farm in Stanford Valley, with mountain and coastal Pinot Noir alongside off-dry Riesling.

The producer

Saurwein began with Elandskloof Pinot Noir in 2015 and is now based at Waterval, an off-grid cellar on a regenerative polyculture farm in Stanford Valley. Nom Pinot Noir comes from Kaaimansgat at 700 metres in Elandskloof Valley, where shale-derived soil, granite topsoil and clay accompany fresh acidity, silky tannin and berry fruit with orange rind, cocoa and savoury notes.

The range shows how site changes the glass. Om is dry-farmed Pinot Noir from Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, 12 kilometres from the sea, bringing raspberry, red cherry, iron-like savoury character and more grip. Chi joins Riesling from Elgin and Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley; spontaneous fermentation and tank maturation keep its off-dry palate floral, citrus-led, pear-toned and flinty.

Known for

Cool-climate Cape South Coast Pinot Noir and off-dry Riesling shaped by contrasting vineyard sites.

Notable facts

The story

From Part-Time Pinot To Waterval

Jessica Saurwein began her own production part-time in 2015, using Pinot Noir from Elandskloof. In 2017, after having a baby, she resigned from her job and became a full-time winemaker for Saurwein. The first wine had already established the project’s link to Elandskloof, whose high Kaaimansgat vineyard now supplies Nom Pinot Noir. In 2021, Jessica and her husband Roland Peens moved to Waterval in Stanford Valley. There they established Saurwein’s present base: an off-grid boutique cellar within a polyculture farm run with regenerative agriculture.

From the atlas

Saurwein

At A Glance

Saurwein is Jessica Saurwein’s Cape South Coast project, based at Waterval farm in Stanford Valley and built around cool-climate Pinot Noir and Riesling. Nom, Om, Chi and Boom draw fruit from distinct sites, so the range moves from mountain Pinot Noir to sea-influenced Pinot Noir and off-dry Riesling rather than presenting one uniform house style.

The Producer

Jessica Saurwein began making wine part-time in 2015 with Pinot Noir from Elandskloof, after studying Oenology and Viticulture at Stellenbosch University and working in vineyards in South Africa and abroad. Her current base is Waterval, an off-grid boutique cellar on a regenerative polyculture farm in cool-climate Stanford Valley. That home farm anchors the work, while the labels follow the vineyards best suited to each grape: high Elandskloof for Nom Pinot Noir, Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge for Om Pinot Noir, and Elgin with Upper Hemel-en-Aarde for Chi Riesling.

Place

Saurwein’s fruit comes from the Cape South Coast, where cooler vineyard conditions help grapes keep acidity as flavour develops. Nom starts in Elandskloof Valley near Villiersdorp, while Om comes from Walker Bay near Hermanus and Chi joins Riesling from Elgin and Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley. These are not interchangeable place names on a label: Nom’s 700-metre mountain setting supports a fresh, light-footed Pinot shape, while Om’s lower, dry-farmed site sits 12 kilometres from the sea and brings a different red-fruit and savoury register.

Soil And Site

Nom grows in Kaaimansgat Vineyard at 700 metres, enclosed by tall mountains. Its shale-derived ground contains granite in the topsoil and clay through the profile; the resulting 2023 Pinot Noir combines fresh acidity with silky, medium-grained tannin rather than dense fruit weight.

Om comes from Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge at 300 metres. The vineyard is dry-farmed and planted on granite-derived soil with substantial clay. Its proximity to the coast and lower elevation place it beside, rather than beneath, Nom in the range: the documented 2022 wine showed raspberry, red cherry, iron and blood notes, carried by acidity and structure.

Story

The Saurwein name has a longer wine history than the present project. Jessica’s forefathers made dry wine for the Emperor of Austria in the 17th century; beside the sweet wines common at the time, that dry style was described as “sour.” Jessica’s own work is more immediate: she brought formal viticulture and oenology training to a small Pinot Noir project, then expanded its frame from a first Elandskloof release to a Cape South Coast range with two site-specific Pinot Noirs and Riesling.

In 2021, Jessica and her husband Roland Peens moved to Waterval in Stanford Valley. The move created a working base with an off-grid cellar and regenerative, polyculture farming around it. That setting does not mean every bottle comes from Waterval; it provides the cellar and farming home from which Saurwein works with cool-climate vineyard sources across the coast.

Vineyards And Cellar

Saurwein uses naturally occurring yeasts and gentle handling, choices that keep fermentation and oak from obscuring vineyard perfume. Chi makes the point most plainly: the 2025 Riesling fermented spontaneously in stainless steel for about five weeks, then rested for two months in tank. Without barrel flavour in the foreground, its citrus blossom, yellow flower, pear, ginger and flint notes remain direct, while its off-dry finish softens the wine’s acidity.

Nom 2023 spent ten months in 228-litre French oak barrels, 26% new. The wood supports cocoa and roasted-chestnut notes around the Pinot’s berry fruit and orange rind, but fresh acidity and silky tannin keep the palate moving. At Waterval, regenerative farming is directed toward health, resilience and diversity; the cellar work then follows fruit from the separate Pinot and Riesling sites.

Wines

The current range has four wines: Nom, Chi, Om and Boom. Nom is the mountain Pinot Noir from Kaaimansgat, with red and darker berry fruit, rose hip, cocoa, orange rind and savoury umami over fresh acidity. Om is the lower, dry-farmed Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge Pinot Noir, with raspberry and red cherry framed by iron-like, savoury notes and firmer structural grip.

Chi is the off-dry Riesling, sourced mainly from Elgin with additional fruit from Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley. Its stainless-steel élevage keeps the body light to medium and the fruit floral, citrus-led and pear-toned, with ginger and flint on the finish. Boom is the fourth current label and is made from Nebbiolo; the available details establish its place in the range but do not support a fuller stylistic description.

In The Glass

Nom 2023 opens with berry fruit, rose hip and orange rind, then turns toward cocoa, umami and roasted chestnut. Its mountain source and fresh acidity give the palate lift; ten months in French oak adds a darker, savoury edge without replacing Pinot Noir’s medium body and silky tannin. The finish is dry, savoury and lingering.

Om takes Pinot Noir in another direction: raspberry and red cherry arrive with iron and blood-like savoury notes. Dry farming, granite-derived soil with clay, and a site close to the sea sit behind a wine whose acidity carries the fruit and whose tannin gives it more grip. Chi changes colour and structure completely, bringing floral citrus, white pear, ginger and flint into a lightly sweet, acid-bright Riesling finish.

A Bottle To Understand It

Start with Nom Pinot Noir 2023. It connects the clearest set of Saurwein details in one bottle: Kaaimansgat’s 700-metre mountain vineyard, shale-derived soil with granite and clay, and ten months in French oak. Expect red and dark berries, rose hip, orange rind, cocoa and savoury umami, with fresh acidity, medium body and silky tannin. It shows how a cool South African Pinot Noir can carry oak, fruit and earth without becoming heavy. The producer gives this vintage a drinking window through 2033.

Anecdote

Jessica Saurwein began making her own wine part-time in 2015, using Pinot Noir from Elandskloof. Two years later, after having a baby, she resigned from her job and became a full-time winemaker for Saurwein. The first wine had already fixed Pinot Noir at the centre of the project, but the change in 2017 altered the scale of her working life: Saurwein was no longer made beside another career. Jessica later moved with Roland Peens to Waterval in Stanford Valley in 2021, where the project now has an off-grid boutique cellar on a polyculture and regenerative farm.

Final Word

Saurwein is worth seeking out for the contrast between its sites: Nom’s high, mountain-grown Pinot Noir; Om’s dry-farmed coastal-near Pinot Noir; and Chi’s floral, off-dry Riesling. The labels make more sense once the vineyard behind each one is in view.

Sources

Open Saurwein in the interactive map →