Dr Marinda Kruger, the newly appointed Director Head of Winemaking at Firstleaf, a wine company in Napa Valley, California, describes herself as a growth seeker and strategist by nature.

“I have always been very inquisitive – science has intrigued me from an early age and I love to learn as I go through life. My passion is to be better today than I was yesterday.”

Although Marinda had a love for nature and soil, and grew up with a father who shared his great appreciation and love for wine with her, she only found her way to winemaking after the completion of her undergraduate studies at Stellenbosch University. “I studied BSc Home Economics with Food & Nutrition as main subjects, after which I worked as laboratory and quality manager for a very large winery in South Africa. The whole winemaking process had my full attention from the start!”

According to Marinda, she did a lot of problem solving in the winery and read much about the subject matter. Realising the influence of the winemaker on the process, she decided to continue her studies and do a Masters (and subsequently a PhD) in Wine Biotechnology.

“It was different then,” she recalls. “There were not many women in the wine industry, and I had the drive to prove myself. Also, winemaking suited my creative spirit as I could not see myself forever in a laboratory, even though I’m grateful for the very solid foundation the laboratory work gave me.”

Marinda says she was very interested in the fact that grape composition plays a role in wine quality. “The focus of my Masters was on assessing grape composition and grape quality, and using FT- MIR spectroscopy (then a very new application in this research field). After my Masters, I became a red winemaker for the same winery and later also became their research and quality manager.”

For her PhD studies a few years later, Marinda focused on alcoholic fermentation, which included natural fermentation and the monitoring thereof, using FTMIR spectroscopy (the full mid-infrared spectra) and data science to visualise the process. It was a very interesting study which I thoroughly enjoyed.”

By this time, Marinda was making wine for an international wine company. “I was their South African winemaker and had the amazing opportunity to explore the global wine industry,” she recalls.

Before her big move to the US, Marinda worked as a winemaker at Elgin Vintners for four years where her team achieved some excellent results.

“Making wine with top quality grapes was the highlight of my winemaking career thus far. I am proud to have been rated twice as one of the Top Pinot Noir winemakers in South Africa through the Mosaic Top 5 Pinot Noir competition. Also, in January 2022, our Elgin Vintners Sauvignon Blanc 2021 was rated as one of the highest scoring Sauvignon Blancs by the UK Drinks Business Top 12 Sauvignon Blancs, worldwide.”

Looking back on her winemaking career, Marinda is grateful for the opportunity to have worked with, made wine with and talked with winemakers across the world. “I travelled extensively. It is very humbling; we all love what we do and take pride in that.”

Closer to home, Marinda is proud of being a mom and leaving a legacy for her two daughters, both of whom are SU alumni. She has been a very active alumna, as part of the Elgin Maties Alumni Chapter, and is looking forward to joining the new Alumni Chapter in San Francisco, which is closest to where she lives.

“I love being a Matie. I believe in education and aiming for the highest level that a person is capable of. Being part of the Elgin chapter was my small way of giving back to Maties, as Stellenbosch University has given me so much and opened my world as a very young first year and thereafter.”

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