On 17 April 1971, three visionary wine farmers’ persistence gave birth to the Stellenbosch Wine Routes, the country’ s first formal wine route and still its largest today. Locals call the trio behind it“ the troika”.
The Founders Stellenbosch Wine Routes was co-founded by three very different personalities:
• Frans Malan of Simonsig Wine Estate, also celebrated as the pioneer of South Africa’ s first Méthode Cap Classique sparkling wine, the Kaapse Vonkel.
• Niel Joubert, then owner of Spier Wine Farm.
• Spatz Sperling of Delheim Wines, a German-born larger-than-life character once nicknamed“ The difficult German” for his blunt opinions and even blunter delivery.
A French Idea, Brought Home The spark was struck in Burgundy. Travelling through the French countryside in 1969, Malan and Joubert came across the modest Route des Vins( then generally referring to the Alsace Wine Route) and were struck by something simple: small domaines there opened their cellar doors directly to passing tourists.
Back home, nothing of the sort existed. South African wine farms sold their grapes and wine largely in bulk to big wholesale corporations, and the law itself worked against the small producers. Wine could only be sold to the public in cases of 12 bottles at a time. There was no culture of visiting a farm to taste, let alone buy, a bottle or two.
Malan and Joubert returned home determined to change that, roping in their friend, Spatz Sperling of
48 | SPRING 2026 • rovesa. co. za