INTELLEGO

Ten years ago, a retired opera star walked into the wineshop I was working at. She had just immigrated to Canada from South Africa and was missing her homeland's warmth, so she decided to import her country's wines to spread some sunshine. We tasted through the line-up, and although there were some tasty bottles, most fell short. I was so charmed by her story I asked if she'd be willing to broker in wine from a few smaller producers for me so I could continue to support her endeavours but home in on the energetic style I'm so fond of. She cheerfully agreed – she had never worked with wine before, so any help was appreciated.

She perused my list and discovered Jurgen Gouws, the proprietor of Intellego, was old-school friends with her daughter. They connected via Facebook (long before he built an actual website) and agreed to a partnership. A few months later, I had the wines on the shelf. They were a huge hit, and we promptly sold out. On our second order, we agreed to share a small amount with our friends at Pigeonhole, who also promptly sold out. 

Three years later, after I had left the retail world and started Juice Imports, the importer contacted me again. She had dire news. She had fallen ill and could no longer keep up with her importing business. She asked whether I'd be willing to take over Intellego for her, and despite our minuscule budget, I agreed. Conveniently, six months later, I was in South Africa and had an opportunity to meet Jurgen in person.  

Jurgen Gouws is a wiry farmer born in a small town 800km north of Cape Town, surrounded by citrus trees. He has fond memories of visiting his grandparent's farm outside Stellenbosch, which may have contributed to his eventual move to agriculture. They grew grapes and other fruits, all sold to the co-op. They sold the farm in 1990, but Jurgen eventually found his way back into the vines.

Like many aspiring winemakers, he attended Elsenburg, the western cape's hub for agricultural studies. After completing his degree (and playing a little rugby), he started working harvests in France (Stephan Ogier, Matassa), Spain (Terroir al Limit), and Russia, but eventually settled back into South Africa.

His turn towards natural wine happened organically. He enjoyed the flavours and philosophy, trying to capture genuine expressions of terroir instead of stylizing wine via manipulation. He remembers an instance in 2011 when Camille Lapierre opened a bottle of Tierry Puzelat's sparkling red, which left an impression.

His first independent wines were made at Lammershoek in 2009, where he was assistant winemaker to Craig Hawkins (Testalonga). This mythical estate was helmed initially by Eben Sadie, who influenced Craig and Jurgen considerably. The farm was an early adopter of organic farming and even employed biodynamic practices, a first in South Africa.

Intellego started as roughly a thousand bottles, one tank of red and one of white, made in a corner of the winery. The two continued to work together for four years before each went off to pursue their dreams full-time.

Jurgen wasn't blessed with land, so he started making friends with farmers, essentially driving around and knocking on doors, looking for organic sites in the Swartland. He now leases a third of his vines and purchases the rest of his fruit from like-minded farmers. There's a strong bias towards dry-farmed vines. He believes cultivar selection is paramount in hot, arid regions like much of South Africa's Western Cape. He purchases fruit from entire blocks instead of working on tonnage contracts. This methodology is more fair for the farmers but requires more flexibility on his end.

When Jurgen's not making wine, he's surfing. While in South Africa, he not only beat Craig and me in a friendly Bowls match, he could not meet because the surf on the West Coast was supposed to be particularly good (despite the sharks). His most iconic wine is named after a beach in Bali: Kedungu.  

Intellego translates from Latin as 'I Understand'. Jurgen hopes that the drinkers of his wines will come to know the countryside he’s so fond of through wine. From an early age, he knew he wanted to stay in the Western Cape; sharing the uniqueness of the landscape via authentic wine seems like an incredibly objective. In his mind, this goal can only be achieved via sustainable farming and minimalist winemaking.