Man

As budding young winemakers back in 2001, we sometimes struggled to find decent wines we could afford. My brother Philip and I were involved with our family winery (Joostenberg Wines) and José was busy at his (Stark-Condé Wines). We weren’t looking for rockstar bottles that cost a fortune. But we had pretty high standards (in our own opinion) and wanted wines we could enjoy with our friends, most of whom were also in the wine industry. We were wine geeks in need of an everyday wine. We saw a niche in the market and got to work but first had to come up with a name for this new project. To keep peace in the families, we took our wives’ initials (we each have one wife!) — and that is how we explained to Marie, Anette and Nicky that we were going to be “busy” most weekends. “It’s for you!” we told them. We immediately got to work in an old tractor shed and that first year, we made a total of 600 cases of Pinotage. – Tyrrel Myburgh, co-founder

From the beginning, we focused on looking for the best grapes. It was never about shiny new equipment or a fancy cellar. Tyrrel and I used to drive around looking at vineyards every weekend, talking with the grape growers. Actually, it was Tyrrel that did most of the early negotiating—I stayed behind in the truck because as an American guy with a strong accent, I wasn’t the person best suited to convincing farmers that we were deserving of their grapes. It was important to win their trust if we were to win their best fruit. As we eventually found our footing, the MAN project became a collaboration with the grape growers, and today they are shareholders in our company. We are very lucky to be in partnership with experienced farmers who collectively grow some of the best old vine Chenin Blanc in the country. I’m really positive about the potential of South African wines in the world market. – José Conde, co-founder

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