Winemaker
Annerie Smit
- Discipline
- Winemaker
- Based in
- Strand (Cape Town), South Africa
i. Biography
Annerie Smit is co-owner and manager of Still-Oaky Distillery in Strand, Cape Town, South Africa, where the house style is built around a gin that begins with apple and is shaped by African, Indian and European botanicals. The distillery describes it plainly: “Our Gin is distilled from an Apple base and a special blend of African, Indian and European botanicals.” That formulation tells the story of the work itself: a controlled base spirit, a specific botanical mix, and a clear sense of what the gin is meant to be.
The Climb
At Still-Oaky Distillery, the work of co-owner and manager is less about display than about keeping a defined process intact. In Annerie Smit’s case, that means overseeing a spirit whose identity starts with apple and is carried by African, Indian and European botanicals. The language around the gin is direct, and the production reads the same way: deliberate, measured, and built around a set composition rather than ornament.
Today
The current role is hands-on stewardship of a distillery with a very specific point of view. As co-owner and manager, Annerie Smit works with a gin described through an apple base and a blend of African, Indian and European botanicals, giving the spirit a recognisable framework before it ever reaches the glass. Her own note on serve is equally precise: “Because Searsia is distilled from Apple, the flavour of any fruit garnish is amplified by the natural flavour.” It is a practical observation, and a useful one for anyone building a serve around a spirit with its own built-in character.
Career - co-owner and manager — Still-Oaky Distillery, Cape Town
Signature
Annerie Smit’s signature wines include Searsia London Dry Gin, Roasted Rooibos Infused Gin, Aardvark Gin, and Stowaway Rum. The names map out a range of expressions, but they also show a distiller working in named, distinct formulations rather than a single repeated style. Read together, they point to a portfolio defined by ingredient identity and clear labeling.
In Their Words “Because Searsia is distilled from Apple, the flavour of any fruit garnish is amplified by the natural flavour.” “Our Gin is distilled from an Apple base and a special blend of African, Indian and European botanicals.” These two lines are the clearest guide to the distillery’s method: an apple base, a defined botanical blend, and a finish that responds to garnish with its own fruit-led register.
Recognition
The recognition attached to Annerie Smit is embedded in the role itself: co-owner and manager of Still-Oaky Distillery in Strand, Cape Town, working with a gin whose composition is stated with uncommon clarity. That combination of place, position, and process is the point. It is a profile built on a fixed recipe language and the discipline required to carry it through.
FAQ What is Annerie Smit known for? Annerie Smit is known as co-owner and manager of Still-Oaky Distillery in Strand, Cape Town, South Africa. What are Annerie Smit's most notable roles? Her most notable role is co-owner and manager at Still-Oaky Distillery.
