Portrait of Graham Weerts
i. Biography
On the mountain vineyards of Alexander Valley, Chardonnay rewards timing more than flourish. In Graham Weerts’s work, that means the first fruit off the block can be the basis for Stonestreet Estate Blanc de Blancs, and the cellar decisions that follow matter just as much as the picking. The discipline runs through the whole practice: harvest timing, fruit handling, and a preference for clarity over ornament. The arc starts in South Africa and moves into winery work, where patient execution shapes the final wine.
The Path
Elsenburg Agricultural College gave Weerts the practical base that feeds into harvest and cellar work. In South Africa, he started as a harvest worker at various employers in South Africa and a cellar hand at various employers in South Africa, learning the season from both ends: the pace of picking and the attention required once fruit reaches the winery. From there, the work widened across regions and roles. Weerts became assistant winemaker at Mulderbosch Vineyards in South Africa, then seasonal winery worker at Château de Terrefort-Quancard in Bordeaux, before taking a harvest worker role at Vérité Winery in Sonoma County (1999). He went on to become winemaker at Bellingham Winery in Cape Town and later winemaker at Stonestreet in Alexander Valley (2004–2014), where Chardonnay and site came into especially close alignment. Today, Graham Weerts oversees vineyard and winemaking operations at Jackson Family Wines in Sonoma County, a role that keeps vineyard decisions and cellar execution tied together.
The Work Today
Chardonnay is the clearest line through Weerts’s work. It appears in the Alexander Valley wines and in the South African projects associated with his name, with the emphasis on origin, timing, and the point at which fruit is ready to move. In 2021, Stonestreet Estate Blanc de Blancs was made from the first Chardonnay fruit picked from the mountain vineyards of Alexander Valley at Stonestreet Winery in Healdsburg. That detail carries the wine’s identity: first-picked fruit, mountain-grown Chardonnay, and a sparkling wine linked directly to the estate’s harvest sequence. Silene is one of Capensis’s standard-bearer blended Chardonnays, while Capensis Fijnbosch is sourced entirely from a portion of the Fijnbosch Vineyard. Both wines reflect the same working principle that runs through Weerts’s career: site, fruit, and harvest choice doing the main work.
Career - harvest worker — South Africa - cellar hand — South Africa - assistant winemaker — Mulderbosch Vineyards, South Africa - seasonal winery worker — Château de Terrefort-Quancard, Bordeaux - harvest worker — Vérité Winery, Sonoma County (1999) - winemaker — Bellingham Winery, Cape Town - winemaker — Stonestreet, Alexander Valley (2004–2014) - oversees vineyard and winemaking operations — Jackson Family Wines, Sonoma County Education: Elsenburg Agricultural College
Signature
Graham's signature wines include Capensis, Silene, and Capensis Fijnbosch.
Acclaim
The clearest markers of Weerts’s recognition are the roles and wines that map his path. His work as winemaker at Stonestreet in Alexander Valley connects South African beginnings to California production, giving the career a clean line across continents and vintages. Stonestreet Estate Blanc de Blancs adds a second point of reference: a 2021 wine made from the first Chardonnay fruit picked from Alexander Valley’s mountain vineyards. The detail is precise, and that precision defines the work—careful picking, careful handling, and a method that starts long before the wine is poured.
FAQ Where did Graham Weerts train or study? Graham Weerts trained at Elsenburg Agricultural College. What is Graham Weerts known for? Chardonnay.
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