Johan Meyer, AKA “Stompie”, has made a name for himself in the ever-emerging South African wine industry in a very short time. While his namesake Signature wines reflect his love of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Stompie felt that there was a gap in the market for affordable, well-made, natural wines from the Cape. He thus founded Mother Rock Wines in collaboration with his UK importer Ben Henshaw of Indigo Wines. After seeing the market quickly drink up the initial Force Celeste wines (formerly known as Force Majeure), they expanded the offerings to include a label called Mother Rock, focused on discovering exceptional parcels of sustainably-farmed vines grown on a variety of soil types. The identity of these two lines is rooted deep in the South African wine industry, with Chenin Blanc at the root of the whites and Cinsault at the root of the reds.

Today, Stompie and his wife, Anri, are building their new home estate, Platteklip Vineyards, at the top of the Piketberg Mountain in the northern reaches of the Swartland. Stompie even applied for – and was granted – a new Wine of Origin appellation called Piket-bo-berg that is, today, a monopole of just his estate. Platteklip Vineyards is located at over 2,000 feet above sea level; anything below this height is designated as W.O. Swartland. While they wait for the vines to mature, Stompie sources his fruit for all the Mother Rock wines from organically-farmed plots throughout the Swartland. In the winery, there is no SO2 added before or during fermentation, though the wines are often lightly sulfured before bottling for stability. Ultimately, Mother Rock is about showcasing the best and purest expression of the Swartland’s diverse terroir.