An American pair of backpackers, Charles Brain and Walker Brown, fell in love with South Africa and settled in. In 2016 they formed Cape Venture Wine Company in collaboration with independent South African winemakers Trizanne Barnard and Bruce Jac. Since then, they have been successful with canned Lubanzi wines packaged and marketed in the US while the traditional wines are produced and bottled in Swartland. Sourcing fruit from several dry farmed vineyards within Swartland, they ferment Chenin Blanc with the native yeasts and do everything else needed to make a 100% vegan wine. This 2022 is pale straw in color and with aeration displays delicate tangerine and lychee aromas with some minerality. Medium bodied with good texture, it delivers lively flavors of apricot and tropical fruit with good acidity asserting itself in the lengthy finish.
Lubanzi Wines, Swartland (South Africa) Chenin Blanc 2022
By Norm Roby