Bertus Fourie

Coming Up

Training at the University of Stellenbosch gave Bertus Fourie a technical base in winemaking, and the kind of discipline that later mattered in a style defined by precision rather than gimmick. That early grounding in craft set up a career that would become closely associated with one of South African wine’s more unconventional expressions. In 2001, while researching for his MSc, Fourie encountered the ferment that would become his reference point. Coffee and chocolate aromas were not being added or copied; they were emerging from the wine itself. From that discovery came a working question that would keep developing into a method, and then into a defining line of work.

Where They Are Now

At Barista Wines, Fourie works as winemaker on a label built around a style that still catches attention because it is unusual, yet technically grounded. The centre of that work is Coffee-flavored Pinotage, which Fourie describes without ornament: “This is the magic and the mystery. The aromas and flavours are completely natural.” The style did not arrive by chance. Fourie has said he tested different combinations of cultivars, yeasts and oak to find what Pinotage would give on its own. What emerged, in his account, was “this wonderful, rich coffee, chocolate and red fruit profile.” The appeal sits in that balance: exacting technique on one side, immediate drinkability on the other. For Fourie, the work is also measured by the people it brings to the table. “I love to make coffee Pinotage,” he has said. “It is such a consumer-friendly wine and I have met thousands of people as a result.” That access matters in a category that can be distinctive without being closed off.

Signature

Bertus's signature wines include Barista Pinotage and Coffee Style Pinotage. Both sit within the style he has helped define at Barista Wines, where Pinotage is shaped into a profile of coffee, chocolate and red fruit without losing the structural clarity that makes the wines recognisable.

In Their Words “I worked on various combinations: cultivars, yeasts, oak — only Pinotage evolves into this wonderful, rich coffee, chocolate and red fruit profile.” “I love to make coffee Pinotage. It is such a consumer-friendly wine and I have met thousands of people as a result.”