Lauren Snyman
W in e ma ker at L e Bonheur
We all know winemaking is an art but gone are the days where it was preserved for males who seemed to speak in a language that the rest of us could not understand. Enter the female winemaker. We spoke to one of the young ladies who together with a few others are breaking new ground in this area. Lauren Snyman is the new, young wine maker at Le Bonheur and she is relishing the experience. According to Lauren, the wine industry is filling up with the ladies and over the past eight years that she has been in the industry she has seen more and more entering the field. The guys in the industry take it in their stride and Lauren says they are always willing to help or advise where necessary and the balance makes it a pleasure to be a part of the wonderful world of wine. We asked Lauren how and why she chose winemaking as a career?
“I started studying a BSc - Chemistry at the US, towards the end of my first year I realized I didn’t want to spend the rest of my career in a Lab. So my dad suggested winemaking, I never knew you could study wine, and my friend’s father who was winemaker at Koopmanskloof gave me great inspiration. In my second year I started studying wine, and never looked back. “
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“And I am still learning, things change every day!” Sakkie Kotze, a Wise Man, is Lauren’s description and whom she affectionately refers to as ‘Oom’ was the Winemaker and Estate manager for 20 years and contributed greatly to the success of the very popular Le Bonheur wines. Lauren had the privilege of harvesting with him in 2013 and though he has retired he still pops in every now and then. Lauren’s favourite cultivars to work with are: Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon as she finds these challenging So far, the 2014 harvest at Le Bonheur looks good and as Lauren says the wines show for themselves and the terroir of Le Bonheur lends itself to excellent wines, so if nothing changes, (weather, disease etc) look out for the next award winning wines from the vineyard made by the beautiful Lauren Snyman. She is excited to take the brand to new heights and make her own mark on the label with her own personal touch, but, without changing the style too much. Lauren is truly passionate about what she does and draws inspiration from everything related to winemaking, from the people she
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2014/01/24 09:09:28 AM