Jessica Saurwein spent three and a half years working with Peter Finlayson of Bouchard Finlayson, before launching her own label in 2015.
Although I know her husband, Roland Peens, very well, we only officially met at a tasting Cape Town in September 2025.
Born of a German father and a Capetonian mother, Jessica was raised in Saudi Arabia and Germany, before the family relocated to South Africa in 1996.
Given her previous employ, it’s understandable as to why there is a close affinity to the Cape South Coast, with Jessica and Roland recently purchasing a farm in Stanford. There is a modest cellar on the farm, with the first (Pinot Noir) vines being planted in 2025.
Given her heritage, it’s easy to understand her love for Riesling. Jessica remains one of the few to take the variety seriously in the Cape. Eighty percent of the fruit comes from two vineyards in Elgin, with the balance sourced from the Bosman farm in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, with all three sites at 300 metres elevation. The wine is fermented in stainless steel and although typically carrying between 10-14 grams per litre of residual sugar, it’s in perfect balance.
Chi means “life force” and Chi stands for CHIUTA (an African rain god).
Jessica makes two expressions of Pinot Noir.
The Om Pinot Noir is sourced from 20 year old dry farmed vines on Place of the Gods, in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, around 12kms inland from False Bay on a combination of Table Mountain Sandstone and Bokkeveld shale and clay below. The first vintage was 2018.
Om symbolises the concept of universal creation. This word is also synonymous with peace.
The Nom Pinot Noir is a 2.5 hectare vineyard planted on a combination of shale and sandstone with some quartz over clay. Jessica is one of only four winemakers with access this much revered ‘Kaaimansgaat’ vineyard, some 700 metres above the small town of Villiersdorp. The relationship with the farm dates to the time she was working at Bouchard Finlayson, with Jessica present when the vineyard was established. The first vintage from Elandskloof was in 2015.
Nom stands for nombulelo (gratitude in “Xhosa”) and Nomkhubulwane (a forgotten African goddess of agriculture).
The first release of a 2025 vintage Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge sourced Nebbiolo will be in September 2026.
Website: www.saurwein.co.za
| Saurwein Chi Riesling | pack shot | 2025 fiche |
| Saurwein Nom Pinot Noir | pack shot | 2024 fiche |
| Saurwein Om Pinot Noir | pack shot | 2024 fiche |