Paul Cluver

Paul Cluver - New wines from the Cape

When Paul Cluver, a neurosurgeon by training, bottled his first wine in Elgin, 70 km southeast of Cape Town, in 1997, he was still smiled at for his plan to grow wine here in the immediate vicinity of the cool Atlantic.

Finesse and elegance

Until then, he was the only one who recognized the potential of Elgin as a wine region, which was later declared a wine heritage site by UNESCO. In this highland region the climate and vegetation changes and actually Elgin is more known for apple and peach growing. Quite deliberately, Paul Cluver planted grape varieties here that were appropriate for this harsher climate. It was not long before the critical voices fell silent and the finesse-rich and elegant Cluver wines were not only the proverbial talk of the town.

Innovations that pay off

Today, more than a decade later, the region has taken an enormous upswing and Paul Cluver, in the meantime strengthened by his son and his wife Alexandra, forms the spearhead of a series of winemakers who are increasingly succeeding in expressing the special character of the Elgin in their wines. This is also shown by the numerous awards for the winery, of which John Platter says: "Paul Cluver has long since arrived in the wine world's hall of fame," and Weinwirtschaft also reports: "For all four varieties, Paul Cluver ranks among the best producers in South Africa."