The Story

Dorrance Wines recently unveiled their new urban wine cellar and tasting room located in the Heritage Square, one of Cape Town’s most iconic buildings.

The narrow doorways, exposed granite walls, dimly-lit rows of barriques and an old forge provide the perfect old world setting for a unique City Winery.

Christophe & Sabrina Durand’s journey to create a space in which to nurture and showcase wines that express terroir, honour tradition and exude elegance.

This quest corresponds with Dorrance wine’s credo of producing finely crafted wines in the French tradition.

Hailing from Calvados, Christophe moved to Cape Town in 1995, where he established himself as a supplier of premium French barriques and also met Sabrina.

However, the quest to discover South African wines that expressed origin and individuality led to the release of their first wine, the Cuvee Ameena Syrah 2000.

The birth of their daughter was commemorated with the launch of the Cuvee Anais Chardonnay in 2004 and in 2011 the celebrated Kama Chenin Blanc emerged to complete the star-studded lineup.

Victim of their own success. Demand had risen to such a level that continuing under their existing infrastructure would have been unsustainable. Furthermore, while their wines were available in prominent restaurants and wine retailers, there was nowhere for wine enthusiasts to go to experience Dorrance’s winemaking philosophy or interact with the people behind the brand.

To achieve perfect expression, Christophe relies on unique vineyard sites, early picking and rigorous sorting to bring in,” beautiful, healthy berries which shape a more balanced wine with a low PH, higher natural acidity and lower alcohol.”