Brief Background of the Estate :
Dieu Donné Vineyards was acquired by the French-Mauritian, Robert Maingard in 1987 in search of his French roots in South Africa. This was three centuries after the first French Huguenots had settled in Franschhoek. They inherited a range of blended wines – all made and bottled in the Dieu Donné self-contained winery. In 1988 a programme of extensive replanting was embarked upon with Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon and various Chardonnay clones replacing existing vines.
Hennie du Toit, Dieu Donné’s farm manager was born on the farm which was sold when he was 13 years old. Little did he know that he would return as Farm Manager.
“Dieu Donné” literally means “A Gift from God” or “God Given”. What a wonderful discovery! The exquisite mountain vistas viewed from Dieu Donné Vineyards endorses this translation.
CROIX DE LORRAINE – SYMBOL OF NON-CONFORMITY
Featured in the Dieu Donné logo is the unique Croix de Lorraine with its distinctive double bars, a proud symbol which, through the ages, has been associated with a spirit of non-conformity – a spirit true to Dieu Donné’s approach to wine-making. The fascinating origins of this cross date back to 1241, when the Crusaders brought the cross with them from Constantinople (now Istanbul) and kept it hidden in the castle of Baugé in Anjou, a province in the Loire Valley of Western France.
Setting and Ambience :
"The Gift of Perfect Conditions"
Dieu Donné is situated high on the steep south-west facing slopes of the Franschhoek Mountains, which tempers the sun, ensuring slow ripening of our grapes. Thanks to our cool summer conditions and unique soil strata of Hutton and Clovelly soils from weathered granite with a rocky topsoil, the vines do not show escessive vigour, nor do they over-produce. These special soils do not get irrigated, further concentrating the flavours and characters of Dieu Donné’s terroir in the grapes. These exceptional conditions give Dieu Donné wines their special character.
Experience :
"Enjoy our views and our wines"
The view from Dieu Donné is well-known among those who wish to identify the famous landmarks of Franschhoek, watch the sun setting over the Simonsberg Mountains or just love enjoying a glass of wine during a picnic at this scenic spot.
Stephan Du Toit :
WINE-MAKER OF DISTINCTION
Dieu Donné’s wine-maker, Stephan du Toit is one of the few South-African wine-makers with the distinction of being a Cape Wine Master. He is a graduate of Elsenburg Agricultural College, South Africa’s foremost academic institution in viticulture and wine-making. Stephan has been creating award-winning wines at Dieu Donné for 10 years. Before joining Dieu Donné he specialized in making red wines at the famous Nederburg Wine Estate. Stephan has spent several harvests working at Chateau Margaux (Bordeau), Weinsburg Wine School (Germany) and in the wine area of Vienna in Austria. He has also travelled the European wine regions extensively, and has worked at Simi Winery in Sonoma (California) and visited the wine regions of Chile, Australia and New Zealand. Stephan is a man for the outdoors and loves adventure sports. Paragliding is among his pastimes. He is an eager white water kyaker, spear-fisherman and kite surfer.
Winemaking Details :
Dieu Donné has been making natural wines from Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Pinotage, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc for quite some time now. More recently though, Dieu Donné has started producing a Methode Cap Classique (Bottle fermented sparkling wine). He has found the unique situation, altitude and soil on Dieu Donné. This allows the grapes to produce a high natural acid, more reminisant of European vineyards, than South African. High natural fruit acids being the mainstay to making great bottle fermented sparkling wines proved to be a natural progression to this style of wine.
