Schultz Family Wines - Premium Weingut in Stellenbosch, Südafrika

A first-class and fruity Syrah with a sense of freshness and minerality is created by the talented winemaker Rudi Schultz practically in his spare time alongside his job as a winemaker at South Africa's legendary Thelema Mountain Vineyards in Stellenbosch. Here Rudi handcrafts his small portfolio of ultra-premium wines under his own label, which also includes Rudi Schultz Sauvignon Blanc and in the future also a Cabernet Sauvignon.

Rudi Schultz was fascinated and entranced by wine from an early age, but it was on a sailing trip from the Cape to North Carolina via the Caribbean that awakened the desire to become a winemaker. During his 7-month adventure at sea, Schultz had the opportunity to taste numerous Côte-Roties and Châteauneuf-du-Papes of absolute top class, as the owner of the sailing yacht was an enthusiastic collector of Rhône wines. This first encounter with world class wines made a huge impression on young Rudi Schultz and awakened in him the desire to create wines of the same calibre and style in his home country of South Africa.

After graduating in oenology and viticulture at Elsenberg College in Stellenbosch, Schultz was able to gain valuable practical experience during a harvest on SonomaCutrer. When he returned to the Cape, he brought with him a tremendous understanding of the latest scientific and technological winemaking techniques - a tremendous advance unheard of in South Africa at the time.

Schultz worked at numerous wineries before taking up the position of winemaker at South Africa's prestigious Thelema Mountain Vineyards in 2001. Since then he has been handcrafting world class wines under the watchful eye of the great wine legend at Cape Gyles Webb.

In 2002, Schultz began his journey to France, where he visited the wineries of his deepest admiration and completed a vintage at Château-du-Joanny in the southern Rhône, working primarily with grape varieties such as Grenache, Syrah and Viognier.