Interview with Tim Hutchinson

Tim Hutchinson is the CEO of DGB (Pty) Ltd, one of South Africa’s largest independent wine and spirit producers and distributors. He has been with the company for 30 years and is currently the CEO of the group. A hands on person, Tim spends nearly half of his time travelling and visiting markets. I had a chance to catch up with him during his three-weeks visit to Asia.

DGB began as Douglas Green & Co in 1942. Through merger and acquisitions, and eventually a management buyout led by Tim himself, the company has grown to include 12 wine brands and 12 spirits brands. To date, the wines are available in over 100 countries. With the acquisition of Boschendal, one of the oldest wine estates in South Africa in 2005, the root of the group also extended back to 1685. The DGB brands available in Asia include Boschendal, Bellingham, Franschhoek Cellar, Douglas Green, The Beach House and Brampton.

Tim is proud to point out that in the UK, DGB’s two premium brands, Bellingham Bernard Series and Boschendal, have 67% of the South African wine premium category (over £15/bottle), while in the Philippines, an emerging market for wine, one in every two South African wines sold belongs to DGB. Tim attributed the success to his highly-driven international team. Instead of sending corporate personnel from the headquarters to each market, DGB identified locally based persons who speak the language and understand the culture to truly capitalise on the potential of each market. DGB’s international team consists of 13 nationalities speaking 15 languages. In Asia Pacific, the dynamic duo are Nick Sonderup, an Australian who speaks Mandarin and has been with the company for four years, and Hong Kong born Kenneth Lee who speaks English, Cantonese, Mandarin and Japanese.

DGB is committed to four key areas: vineyard management to make the best possible wine; tourism to build the brand; social responsibility to improve the quality of life of workers, and environmental responsibility to minimise the impact to the Earth.

Tim reckoned that as much as wine is about craft, it is also about technology. Since good wine is born in vineyard, it is important that winemakers know exactly the quality of fruits each vineyard site could deliver. At DGB, infra-red technology and helicopters are used to map the vigour of the vineyards in such a precision that enables winemakers to decide which specific area of vineyard to be picked and when for a particular wine. On top of state-of-the-art vineyard management, winemakers are also given free hands to experiment. It is true that most of the creations would be blended away but a few would make it to the production line. One such example was Bellingham The Bernard Series Organic wine Syrah 2012 that was recognised as one of the top 10 Syrah/Shiraz in the world at the 10th edition Syrah du Monde International Wine Competition 2016. Coincidentally, Bellingham was the first winery to produce Shiraz in South Africa in 1956.

DGB has long recognised that tourism is one of the driving forces to promote wine. With the weak economy and currency in South Africa, tourism industry in booming. Tim ensures his wine estates have hospitality facilities that would leave lasting memories to guests. Boschendal, home of an award-winning restaurant and elegant cottages, is one of the most visited wine estates in South Africa with 300,000-400,000 guests ever year. The Franschhoek Cellar, located on the Stellenbosch wine route, is a popular destination.

Like most South Africans, Tim admitted that the system under apartheid was unfair. DGB is putting things right now through various social and community projects. Douglas Green funded an educational truck that combined a mobile library of 5,000 books and computer room with 20 laptops that goes around underprivileged schools where children can borrow books and adults can learn computers. The brand also has a line of Fairtrade wine where the premium goes back to the community who then decide how the premium is invested.

Last but not least is the commitment to environment. In addition to using lighter weight glasses, managing waste and running recycling programmes, DGB planted a 10ha bamboo forest in 2011 with two objectives: to offset carbon footprint and to empower the community through job creation and new skill learning. This initiative won the Ethical Award at the Drinks Business Green Awards 2012. The latest project is the installation of 2,600 solar panels across the rooftop of its Wellington’s production facility covering 62,000 sqm, which is expected to produce 1.25 million kWh in its first year of full operation.


Tim doesn’t stop here. While the social and environmental projects are ongoing, he is also planning to introduce a new premium wine brand. He believes the future of South African wine lies in the premium range. Most customers in the world think South African wine is excellent value for money, meaning it’s a great quaffing wine. Unfortunately, this is exactly the Achilles' heel - the weakness of South African wine. When consumers look for more expensive wine, they will not look at South Africa. However, most premium wine estates in South African are too small and even though a few of them are well known in overseas markets, their limited volume do not allow them to make a big impact in the competitive wine markets. He hopes that South African wine estates could work together to grow the country’s premium wine category. Anyway, he is optimistic about the future. As the world is getting smaller, wine is well placed as an aspiration to the young generation.

Boschendal is available from Royal Oak,
Bellingham is available from wine'n'things,
Brampton is available from Cellarmaster Wines

Interview with Boschendal’s lady winemaker

Lizelle Gerber, the white winemaker of Boschendal, joined the wine industry quite accidentally. She was in the military while visiting a friend at Elsenburg College, an agricultural college in Stellenbosch with a fully operational winery. Knowing that she likes outdoor and practical training, she signed up for the winemaking course even though she grew up in a family where drinking wine was not the norm. She considered it a challenge and she likes challenges.

Lizelle never looked back. Her winemaking career started at Zevenwacht Estate (South Africa), a harvest in Alsace (France) and followed by a few years at Avontuur (South Africa) where her wines won numerous awards. She eventually joined Boschendal, one of the original wine farms in Franschhoek, South Africa and the most premium DGB’s brand, in 2006. She is responsible for its Méthode Cap Classique (MCC, sparkling wine made in traditional method), all white wines and the entire Elgin series. The Elgin Pinot Noir is the only red wine she made in Boschendal.

MCC is something that is dear to Lizelle, probably because two of her sparkling wines she made during the first vintage at Boschendal were highly recognised. The Grand Cuvée Brut 2007, a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that has spent 36 months on lees, won a double gold at Veritas Awards 2011, while Jean Le Long 2007, a blanc de blanc with 60 months on lees, was awarded a silver medal in Veritas Awards 2013. Lizelle is particularly proud of the latter. The Chardonnay grapes were selected from old vines from the cooler sites and only 500 litres of juice was extracted from one ton of grapes. Supported by crisp acidity, the wine has an array of aromas from citrus and dry lemon peel to biscotti that intermingles with the fine bubbles.

Lizelle also showed us her latest wine, Rachel’s Chenin Blanc 2015, that was just off the bottling line a few weeks ago. Chenin Blanc, although originated from Loire, has the most planting in South Africa. It is diverse and the style can range from fruity and easy drinking to oaked aged with ageing potential. Rachel belongs to the fruitier style but with a twist. 10% of the wine was fermented in old oak barrels to add a bit of texture and give a round mouthfeel. It paired beautifully with the scallop tartar but also stood up to the panfried foie gras that we had for dinner, demonstrating the versatility of the variety.




The Elgin series is Lizelle’s baby. She developed it back in 2008 with the aim of
producing a portfolio of super premium appellation specific wines from single vineyard sites that expresses the Elgin’s cool viticultural climate. It took her five years to bottle the first wine in 2013. Of the three wines from the series, Lizelle found the Sauvignon Blanc the most challenging and satisfying - to rein in the pungent aroma and prolong the ageability. She certainly overcome the challenge as the first vintage (2012) was awarded the gold medal at The Michelangelo International Wine Awards 2013.

How about female winemakers in a male dominated world? Lizelle said when she was at Elsenburg, there were only two female students in a group of 12. Women have had to work three to four times harder to prove themselves. She witnessed the acceptance of female winemakers over the past 15 years and now they are just viewed as fellow colleagues, without any gender issue. At Elsenburg today, the male and female students split is about half.

Given her passion for MCC, Lizelle urged wine lovers to give it a try. Most of them are better than the entry level champagne but at less than half the price. The more serious ones, like the Jean Le Long, can certainly rival the prestige bubbly. She also insisted that we should not just call the wine South African sparkling, the official name is Cap Classique!

She also remarked on Pinotage, a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault created in South African that has a love-hate relationship with both winemakers and consumers. It is true that the earlier Pinotage was a hit and miss but with better understanding of the grape variety and improvement in winemaking technique, Pinotage proved to be a versatile variety which can be made into various style of wine from easy drinking to one with longevity.

Established in 1685, this year is the 330th anniversary of Boschendal Estate, the second oldest estate in South African and only two months younger than its bigger brother Groot Constantia. Celebrate its birthday with a glass of Lizelle’s Cap Classique, or even better, pay a visit to its historical manor house in Franschhoek!

Boschendal is available from Royal Oak.