Yo El Rey Wines

I started with my first vintage in 2018. Back then it was just 3 barrels of wine. The wines are made in a cellar in Simondium, between Franschhoek and Paarl, on the other side of the Simonsberg mountain in Stellenbosch. I recently moved across there from Hemel-en-Aarde where I was based for about 3 years. I'm now producing between 5000 and 7000 bottles a year, working with négoce fruit that I buy in from around the Cape. The main vineyard is in Walker Bay, just outside of Stanford, which as of vintage 2025 is the only vineyard I'll be working with moving forward. Here we grow coastal Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah. It's a very special farm, with a full permaculture program spread across grapes, livestock, fruit and veg, and some amazing honey. I work very closely with the two farmers Tabby and Alex to protect and nurture the land here. It's an organic vineyard that we spray tinctures and teas on, so we try to go above and beyond those organic principles. We also encourage the growth of natural fynbos and succulents to thrive in the vineyard rows. The cows and goats graze these rows as the season moves into the autumn and winter months, and so there's a really beautiful rhythm here. All of my wines are made using organic fruit without any chemicals in the vineyards. They are all small growers, passionate about soil health and biodiversity on their properties. The wines themselves are all 'natural' by the traditional sense of the definition – organic fruit, natural ferments, no fining nor filtering, and no additives besides a touch of sulphur. I think ultimately I'm trying to make wines that feel alive and authentic, and that have freshness and drinkability to them.