Quality by Design
Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc. A desire to be the best. A dream for family to work together. Since 2000, Bruwer Raats dedicated his life to mastering these two varieties, believing that specialisation would lead to success. The belief was not unfounded, as today, Raats Family wines is regarded as a pioneer and the leader in crafting these two varieties, receiving consistent local and international accolades.
With his cousin Gavin Bruwer Slabbert joining the family business in 2010, this dream of family working together, sharing the passion for crafting fine wines was realised, always believing that together we can achieve more. Today our family business is deep-rooted with two of Bruwer Raat’s sons also working on the farm. Samuel Raats in the vineyards and cellar along Gavin and Bruwer and Joshua Raats in the marketing team.
With Gavin Bruwer Slabbert joining Raats’ side in 2010, the family affair has one shared mission: to consistently produce Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc of outstanding quality from South Africa and to establish these wines as international benchmarks.
As the Raats philosophy continues to flourish, new, curated additions have been introduced along the way. This includes the well-received, vineyard-driven Bruwer Vintners range, and the single wine, speciality bottling of MR de Compostella – an incredibly successful collaboration between Raats himself and fellow winemaker and long-time friend, Mzokona Mvemve.
Based in the winemaking capital of Stellenbosch, Bruwer, Mzokona and Gavin’s winemaking criteria is rigorous, and includes the quality of grape, soil, climate, topography and of course the impact of the human hand, which together, embodies the truest meaning of terroir.