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Jessica Saurwein releases her first estate-made vintage of Nom Pinot noir 2024 and Om Pinot noir 2024 and the 2025 vintage of the acclaimed Chi Riesling
In an era where authenticity has become the ultimate goal, Saurwein Wines has been a testament to the power of personal narrative married to uncompromising craft. The 2024 vintage, now produced in the winery’s own cellar in Stanford represents a milestone achievement after a decade of Saurwein Wines.
The story begins in 17th-century Austria, where Jessica’s ancestors crafted “sour wine” for the Emperor. Today, that legacy finds new expression across four meticulously chosen cool-climate South African vineyard sites: Elandskloof, Hemel-en-Aarde, Elgin and Stanford. Here, Jessica seeks to create meaning beyond pleasure, with beautiful stories and consistently delicious and age-worthy wines.
Producing fine wine and developing a regenerative agriculture has been more than a personal quest. With the help of ‘Nonna’, Jessica’s mother Charmaine Saurwein, husband Roland Peens, two boys, two staff and many animals, minimising inputs and living off the land has become part of the family lifestyle. Roland has been in the fine wine industry for more than two decades, with deep experience in business, marketing and retail, creating a powerful force in this traditionally tricky industry.
The philosophy of minimal intervention
Jessica’s approach to winemaking mirrors the contemporary consumer’s appreciation for authenticity over artifice. Her minimal intervention philosophy allows the voice of each terroir to emerge unfiltered and the natural balance of the grapes to remain intact, creating wines that are as much about place as they are about taste.
“Possibly South Africa’s best Riesling,” pronounced Jancis Robinson MW of the 2019 vintage. Such recognition places Saurwein alongside the elite producers elevating South African Riesling to global significance, a movement that has been noted with particular interest. As for the 2025 Riesling, this vintage offered long, cool ripening – ideal conditions to pick the grapes when they were golden in colour, rendering the most possible flavour. The Saurwein Chi Riesling is a floral and fruity style of off-dry Riesling made from grapes sourced from the following cooler climate regions of South Africa: Elgin and Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley.
The 2024 Pinots reflect an intensity of character, structured mouthfeel and deep, rich aromatics, that make these wines some of the finest produced by the Saurwein stable.
Already Jessica’s first attempt at Pinot noir in 2015, made from grapes sourced from the magnificient Elandskloof, Kaaimansgat vineyard, was regarded by wine critic and authority Neal Martin. Alongside a few of Burgundy’s finest names, the Saurwein Nom 2015 received a higher scores than its most aspirational French counterparts! The second vintage appeared as a mention on the front cover of Decanter Magazine, placing Saurwein Wines in the forefront of internationally discovered Pinot noirs among the top 50 most exciting wines in the world. Today, both these wines have been awarded ample 95+ ratings from the likes of Tim Atkin, Greg Sherwood MW and Jamie Goode.
Nom Pinot noir 2024 is made from grapes sourced from the magical Elandskloof Valley, where the soils are mainly red Bokkeveld shale and clay soils with some granite and sandstone fraction.
The latest release Om Pinot noir 2024, already earning 95 points from Christian Eedes, Winemag, is sourced from a special site closer to the sea located in the highest lying appellation in the Walker Bay/ South Coast, at 300 meters above sea level in the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge appellation. This is a region that has benchmarked itself for its serious and structured Pinot noirs. The Ridge appellation offers complex soils that transition from Table Mountain sandstone (granite, quartz, sandstone) to deep rich Bokkeveld shale soils. This specific site is a dryland vineyard and is farmed for soil health by Shane Mullis. The Om Pinot noir depicts all this terroir has to offer: from the lifted red fruit and fynbos (wild herb) aromatics and fresh acidity to the structured, rich and velvety mouthfeel. This wine is made to age and promised to gain complexity with time in bottle.
Art as identity
What distinguishes Saurwein in an increasingly crowded premium market is its commitment to visual storytelling. The label artwork, created in collaboration with fine artist Isabella Kuijers, features South African flora and fauna and alludes to what can be found aromatically in the bottle. The Chi Riesling offers fresh bright imagery and the typical apple and blossoms that are synonymous for the cooler climate regions these grapes are grown in. The Nom Pinot noir has an opulent red and dark berry aromatic and the colours on the label promise just that. The Om Pinot noir is a very classic style of Pinot noir, with fynbos and wild herb notes, red fruit, forest floor and here too the labels multi-coloured flora introduce the wine’s profound content. This is brand architecture that speaks to the sophisticated consumer’s desire for products that reflect their values and aesthetic sensibilities.
The influence of Jessica’s multicultural background and her father’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis at an early age have paved the way for her dedication to creating a holistic brand. Each bottle becomes a meditation on memory, place, and the healing power of connection to land, soil health and themes that resonate powerfully with the brand’s core demographic of discerning wine lovers.
The business of authenticity
Saurwein Wines has achieved distribution across 16 export markets, a testament to the global appetite for authentic, artisanal South African wines and locally the wines are distributed by Ex Animo. The brand’s success reflects a broader shift in luxury consumption, where provenance and philosophy matter as much as product quality.
Looking ahead, Jessica is planting her own Pinot noir vineyard in Stanford using organic practices to regenerate soil health. Open days on the farm will enable customers and followers to visit this venue to purchase wines and become part of the Saurwein Wines story.
A Legacy in the making
As Jessica Saurwein enters what she calls her “most expressive era,” she exemplifies the new generation of South African winemakers who understand that premium positioning requires more than exceptional liquid, it demands a compelling philosophy, authentic storytelling, and unwavering commitment to craft.
In an age of mass production and marketing artifice, Saurwein Wines offers something increasingly rare. Here is a brand built not on focus groups and market research, but on the ancient understanding that great wine is made not just in the vineyard and cellar, but in the soul of the maker.