Copper Pot is a new project by John Seccombe of Thorne & Daughters. John’s wife Tasha’s folks have a hotel in the Drakensberg mountains called Cleopatra Mountain Farmhouse, and they had asked Josh and Tasha to produce a wine specifically for the hotel and restaurant. After putting their heads together for months trying to come up with a name, Tasha’s mother suggested they use a copper pot like the ones found in their hotel kitchen. And thus, a new label was born!

The Copper Pot Pinot Noir has since taken a life of its own, hopping across the pond to find a home in the states where it has been welcomed with open arms. (A by-the-glass Pinot Noir of this caliber is becoming more and more of a rarity!) John doesn’t work with Pinot Noir in his Thorne & Daughters range, so this has been a nice addition for him as a creative outlet. John and Tasha love Pinot Noir for its supple, delicate power and its ability to elegantly and honestly express its origins. They take to heart the challenge of producing a great wine from this exacting varietal and like so many other Pinot lovers you will often find a bottle on their home table.

The vinification process is simple – wild yeasts, a percentage of whole cluster ferments, and maturation in old oak barrels – but the finished product is anything but ordinary. This is a fine Pinot Noir from one of South Africa’s most accomplished winemakers. In 2024, John was named a member of the prestigious Cape Winemakers Guild, a distinction given to only around 40 winemakers in South Africa. And, in 2023, the 2021 vintage of Copper Pot Pinot Noir was named in the Wine Spectator Top 100 Wines of the Year – the only South African wine on the list. It’s safe to say this is one of the best values money can buy anywhere on the planet.