About Dewaldt Heyns
The Man Behind The Wines
"Since I was young I have identified my father by his hands, which bear the signs of his labour. This stark region keeps you humble; a man has to be close to the soil to be successful here. Growing up on this farm to a great extent has shaped the man I am today."
- Dewaldt Heyns -
Background
Raised on a grape farm in the Paardeberg, Swartland, Dewaldt’s connection to the vine was formed early. Long before winemaking became his profession, life among the vineyards had already shaped his understanding of the land and the work it demands.
“I see farming as my first passion. I love vineyards, perhaps even more than winemaking. They are a joy and a privilege to work with, especially when they carry a little history and character.”
After completing a diploma in Cellar Technology at Elsenburg Agricultural College in 1995, Dewaldt joined Rust en Vrede as viticulturist and assistant winemaker. In 1999, he moved to the newly established Avondale, where he gained valuable experience helping to build a wine farm from the ground up.
In 2004, he joined Saronsberg in Tulbagh as general manager and cellarmaster. Under his leadership, the estate earned consistent recognition, and in 2008 Dewaldt was nominated to the Cape Winemakers Guild, an association of South Africa’s leading winemakers. After two decades at Saronsberg, he joined Iwayini in 2023 as managing executive, following the acquisition of Neethlingshof and Villiera by Les Grands Chais de France.
Harvests at Dry Creek Vineyards in Sonoma and Domaine Yves Cuilleron in Condrieu, together with travel through leading wine regions, broadened his perspective over time.In 2021, he completed an MBA cum laude at Stellenbosch University Business School, bringing the same considered approach to the business of wine as he does to its making.
Philosophy
For Dewaldt, winemaking begins long before the cellar. Growing up among the vines instilled in him a deep respect for viticulture and for the honesty of physical labour – values embodied by his father, whose hands, weathered by decades beneath the Swartland sun, have remained both a reminder and an inspiration.
“Since I was young, I have identified my father by his hands, which carry the signs of his labour. This stark region keeps you humble; to succeed here, a man must stay close to the soil. Growing up here has, to a great extent, shaped the man I am today.”
He expresses his philosophy of terroir simply: “Listen to the vineyard and make wines that release the soul of the grapes. The wine should follow the character of the land in which it is grown, not the preferences of the person making it.”
The Weathered Hands range is the fullest expression of this thinking – a return to his roots and a commitment to wines that are true to their origin and honest about their terroir. Generous and concentrated, yet balanced and refined, these are wines made with sincerity rather than pretension: never austere, always elegant, made with heart and meant to be enjoyed that way.