His international winemaking experience includes working at Chateau Montelena Winery in the Napa Valley, and Bleasdale Vineyards in Langhorne Creek, Australia.

A graduate of Elsenburg in B.Agric Cellar Technology, De Villiers also completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Wine Business Management at the Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town. He is also a Graduate of the Michael Fridjhon Wine Judging Academy.

Rijk Melck is very enthusiastic about De Villiers’ appointment as winemaker. “Hattingh’s comprehensive winemaking and viticultural experience, and strong leadership and team-working skills, make him a valuable and respected member of our cellar and vineyard teams. With his outgoing personality, he will also be assisting us with cellar tours and public tastings.”

De Villiers is looking forward to the new opportunities and challenges at Muratie: “The views from Muratie’s vineyards and cellar stoep feel like a little piece of heaven: on the one side you have the beautiful Simonsberg and on the other Table Mountain, what an inspiring place to work.”

He also enjoys good wine, good food and good company, as well as playing golf and jogging with his border collies. Another very exciting new experience for Hattingh, and his wife Leonie, will be the birth of their first child.

De Villiers is taking over the reins from Francois Conradie, much-loved winemaker at Muratie since December 2005, who tragically passed away on 13 January 2014 after a short battle with cancer.

A visit to Muratie today, still guarded over by ancient oak trees, reveals a piece of history where time has largely stood still. The original open fermenters and winemaking implements in the werf that greet you on arrival; the rickety cob-webbed tasting room with stained glass windows; the renovated original old fermentation tanks, with their tartaric encrusted walls, where lunches and functions are held; the antique carpets and furniture; and original art; all adorn a unique and magical environment where you can still enjoy good wine, honest farm food, and great hospitality.

For more information, visit www.muratie.co.za. Alternatively, phone 021 865 2330 or email [email protected].