SYRAH

Black pepper beef, roast duck, vegetable tagine

A quick 20 minutes in the fridge before serving

Sons of Sugarland forms part of Saga Vineyards - the latest adventure from Reenen Borman, Fritz Schoon, and Henk Kotze —a trio who knows how to turn unexpected vineyard sites into something truly special. We couldn’t write it better than they have themselves: “Halfway between here and nowhere, you’ll turn left into a vineyard that doesn’t look like anything special. Most of the time it isn’t. But sometimes it is. Saga Vineyards is born from these remarkable sites, often in unexpected places, growing fascinating wines that represent not just stories, but epic tales of adventure, persistence and survival.”

Reenen followed his father Jacques Borman’s footsteps into winemaking and has carved his own path with Saga Vineyards, while Fritz juggles business, baking, and family, and Henk keeps the momentum going. Their journey started above a bakery in Stellenbosch with Hawk & Schoon, a boutique wine shop where the first seeds of Saga were planted. Today, their Sons of Sugarland wines stay true to that ethos—whole bunch fermentation, concrete ageing, and nothing else. Just pure, expressive wine that lets the vineyard speak for itself.

The fellas work with traditionally and organically farmed vineyards. They’re not adding anything beyond a tiny dose of sulphur at bottling. More importantly, they’re seeking out these unexpected, and often forgotten vineyards and literally helping keep them in the ground by helping the growers and paying fair prices for the fruit that eventually becomes their soulful, joyful wines.

It really is captivating. It’s pure and raw – it’s Darcy’s “I love, I love, I love you” in the 2005 Pride & Prejudice.

Place: Karibib Vineyard, Polkadraai Hills, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Grapes: Syrah
Style: A romance novel in a glass
Ingredients: Grapes & minimal sulphites