“I am delighted to have been accepted as a member of the Cape Winemakers Guild. I am extremely grateful to the members who supported my membership, and look forward to being a part of the far-reaching work that the Guild does for the South African wine industry.”
Founder of Thorne & Daughters Wines. Born and raised in Johannesburg, John’s first experiences with wine were while studying Computer Science at Stellenbosch University, where he began as a wine waiter at 96 Winery Road. John opted to stay out of corporate life, working with wine in restaurants in the UK before his first harvest in 2002 at the Cape Bay cellar with Gordon Newton Johnson and Bartho Eksteen. The winemaking bug had bitten and harvests in Australia and France followed before John studied BSc in winemaking and viticulture at Plumpton College in the UK. A year’s running the UK’s first viticultural services company Vineworks, as well as harvests in California and France followed before John and Tasha decided to return home to South Africa in 2009. John started Thorne & Daughters at the end of 2012 with the 2013 harvest seeing the first grapes brought into friends’ cellars.
Thorne & Daughters grew over the intervening years, allowing John to continue to produce his ideal wines from small, high quality parcels of vines sourced from all over the Cape. John has always focused on South Africa’s viticultural heritage but soon realised that this outlook needs to encompass so much more than simply old vineyards, strengthening his ideas that we are constantly building our future heritage with thoughtful new plantings and a focus on our people and on our land. John’s approach is eclectic, curious and gregarious, and he produces wine to satisfy and share his fascination with South Africa’s potential and its rich terroir.
50% Sauvignon Blanc, 50% Sémillon
Wine of Origin Olifantsrivier and Paardeberg
The wine marries John’s fascination with classic, Old-World wines and the wildness of our dryland Paardeberg Sémillon and Skurfberg Sauvignon blanc vineyards in the Western Cape. The 2025 vintage is exceptionally elegant and concentrated. Meticulous and minimalist winemaking allowed for complexity and age-worthiness over stark, primary fruit.
Tasting Notes: Oyster shells, blackcurrant, green plums and a touch of sage lead the aromatics, while a mouth-coating palate shows meringue and almond paste with a hint of nutmeg from deft oaking, set against fresh, zippy ruby grapefruit.
Ready for drinking from 2028 to 2036.
Winemaker: Winemaker (Link to his profile)
Wine of Origin Olifantsrivier and Swartland
This wine is John’s first CWG Auction wine. The wine marries John’s fascination with classic, Old-World wines and the wildness of our dryland Paardeberg Sémillon and Skurfberg Sauvignon Blanc vineyards in the Western Cape. The 2024 vintage gave us the ripeness and concentration we could use as a backbone for this elegant and intricate wine. Meticulous and minimalist winemaking allowed for complexity and age-worthiness over stark, primary fruit.
Tasting Notes: Notes of ripe yellow fruit, struck match, oak spice and saline elements on the nose. The wine is dense, voluminous and layered on the palate without carrying unnecessary weight.
Ready for drinking from 2026 – 2036.
Winemaker: Winemaker (Link to his profile)
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