New winery opens at Wellington
2007-11-08
A NEW winery, Dunstone, has opened on a farm outside Wellington.
The owners, Dr Lee Wallis and his wife Abbi, came to South Africa from England in 2002.
Dr Wallis, who spent many years as a doctor in the British Royal Navy, came to Cape Town to work at the Red Cross Children’s Hospital's trauma unit.
After just four months, they fell in love with South Africa: its people, its culture, its beauty, and its climate.
The found their piece of paradise in the Bovlei Valley of Wellington.
They bought the farm Chavonne and converted the manor-house and outbuildings into the Bovlei Valley Retreat guesthouse.
Abbi, who has a BA degree in Hospitality and Tourism and an MBA from Durham University, runs the guesthouse with her team. Her passions are cooking, gardening and horse riding.
Lee is now Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Cape Town and Stellenbosch.
The guava orchards have been replaced by vineyards of Merlot and Shiraz and the first wines were harvested last year.
The wines were made at a neighbouring farm.
After developing an increasing passion for their wines, Abbi and Lee have decided to build a winery, which was completed early this year.
The harvest went straight into the cellar, with Corlea Fourie as winemaker.
The harvest is showing great potential, and at the Young Wine Show their Shiraz received gold and the Merlot a bronze.
The name Dunstone reflects the name of the UK farm where Abbi and Lee met.
As logo they use their Weimeraner hound, called Shiraz. Merlot, the ridgeback, is jealous and consoles himself by chasing Cabernet, their horse.
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