Riverine

Francois Haasbroek and Jaap Pijl are two unlikely characters to have been South Africa’s first canned wine producers. Francois, of Blackwater Wines, is an umpteenth generation South African whose winemaking style is rooted in the traditional camp. Jaap is a Dutch accountant by trade, working primarily with large wineries over the years. They might seem risk adverse, but the founding of their canned wine venture, Renegade Wines, proved them to be quite the opposite. Riverine is the latest brand from Renegade Wines. His wines are made with the same approach that he takes at Blackwater: sustainable farming, wild yeast fermentation, and being hands-on in the cellar but never with heavy hands. Bridging the gap between old school and new wave, he makes varietally correct wines from extremely carefully sourced fruit – they just happen to be in a can. After rigorous shelf-life testing that lasted the better part of 2019, Renegade Wines became the first company to sell canned wines in South Africa.