Celebrating 21 Years of Beautiful Flagstone Wine
This month marks 21 years since the first Flagstone vintage was released. A remarkable journey from the innovative beginnings in the Cape Town Harbour, as South Africa’s first winery without its own estate, to the multi-award-winning winery that resides in Somerset West and boasts a library of 25 different wines.
In the early days, Flagstone drew a loyal and passionate audience due to its distinct, quirky nature and willingness to buck established trends. Fans appreciated what Flagstone stood for and loved the wines coming out of the V&A Waterfront winery. Flagstone represented a new way of doing wine, committed to making honest, real wine that is an authentic reflection of its provenance, even if this means taking the hard path.
In 2002 the winery moved to its current location in Somerset West, occupying a historic dynamite factory. The brand has grown considerably over the years but still retains its early philosophy as a winemaker-driven wine business. This means first doing what is right for the grapes and the wine and then considering how to sell the delicious stuff. This philosophy embraces a marriage of science and art, embracing new techniques while allowing Flagstone’s creative x-factor to guide the delicate craft of winemaking.
Flagstone is led by winemaker Gerhard Swart, one of the youngest winemakers to be awarded the General Smuts Trophy in 2010 for his Semillon. Gerhard has taken the successful brand to new levels of excellence and is responsible for a handsome trophy cabinet and wine bottles that glitter with awards. What makes Gerhard truly exceptional is understanding the language of grapes from vineyard to cellar to bring out the star quality of each vine. This intuitiveness is coupled with ambitious dedication, fastidious attention to detail and an insatiable thirst for knowledge.
Flagstone wines are produced with a commitment to craftsmanship and care, twinned with a dedication to ethical viticulture and environmental protection. As an IPW and WIETA accredited winery, Flagstone places a commitment to sustainability at the heart of how wine is produced, adopting an ethical value system and social accountability management model. This, together with increased consumer demand for transparency and accountability, continues to shape Flagstone’s progress as a winery.
Since 2019 Flagstone has embraced a vegan-centred approach to winemaking by removing the use of all animal-based fining agents, instead they now use plant-based fining agents in the form of pea and potato protein to produce wines that continue to be polished and exceptional. Embracing a vegan-centred approach is a distinct move to ensure their wine is a bottle of joy that treads lightly on the planet and seeks to do no harm.
Flagstone Wine is a journey with many twists and turns enclosed in each bottle waiting for you to explore. These wines will imbue your taste buds with the warmth, colour and vividness of the South African landscape. At the same time, your conscience will be imbued with the satisfaction of knowing that these wines are ethically sound and environmentally honourable.
“A BIG thank you to all our loyal fans, many of whom have been part of the Flagstone journey from the very early days. My 12 years with Flagstone have been supported by a passionate team of wonderful people, from the farmers and winery team for the magic, to the clever folk in logistics and finance that make sure everything runs smoothly, and of course the consumers that make this all possible. Here’s to another 21 years of being creative, making wines that are interesting and different, winning more awards, but above all having fun doing it!” ~ Gerhard Swart, Head Winemaker, Flagstone Wines
Flagstone’s vintages of South African Vegan Society (SAVS) accredited wines:
- Free Run Sauvignon Blanc 2019
- Tributary Chenin Blanc 2019
- Treaty Tree Cab Malbec Merlot 2018
- Free Run Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2019
- Paradigm Chenin Blanc 2020
