The Maties Wine Club
The Maties Wine Club (MWC) has proven the existence of an important and treasured link between being a Matie and enjoying a delicious glass of proudly South African wine. Faced with the challenge of how to engage with our fellow alumni during recent socially distanced times, necessity once again donned the cape of innovation and allowed Matie friends – hundreds of kilometres and even continents apart – to come together, share their stories and engage with Matie winemakers.
The MWC sets out to establish a platform for alumni engagement and relationship building between the University, fellow alumni and South African wine estates. We have received excitedly positive feedback from our alumni in Europe about the almost jam-packed wine tastings (mainly online events) with renowned wine estates such as Beyerskloof, Babylonstoren, La Motte and Waterford. The Club is housed in the new Alumni Welcoming Centre at Die Stal and will soon also pivot towards in-person wine-related events, such as Come Wine with Me curated food and wine evenings, wine launches and industry-related gatherings.
The Club also aims to acknowledge Matie alumni who work in the various industries related to the wine industry, both locally and abroad. Given our geographic location, our academic context, and the renown of our legendary Matie socials, it is easy to understand why wine is such an integral component of our story, economy, history and social fabric. With the launch of our Maties Winemaker Exchange, we aim to honour our alumni winemakers who are making their mark in the SA wine industry.
If sitting back, relaxing, and reliving some of your most heartfelt memories of Stellenbosch, while sipping on a glass of wine, sounds like something you would enjoy, then the MWC is definitely a club that you want to be involved with. With a childlike glee, we can say Cheers! to all the wondrous tastings and sharing of fond Stellenbosch memories that are to come. Life is indeed a celebration and we should pop the bottle and enjoy the delectable ‘nectar of the gods’.
My passion and love for all things wine-related started in 2015 when I joined the US Wine Culture Society as a very eager and adventurous Gautenger, who found himself flung into the wonderful world that is the Cape Winelands.
My friends often say that I am too serious when it comes to wine, especially when considering that I have also aligned my research work to focus on wine industry waste, but all I can say to them is that I am 100% a vino nerd. I aim to qualify as a Cape Wine Master in the near future. I look forward to meeting many more Matie oenophiles whilst enjoying a glass of proudly SA wine.
For more information feel free to contact Darren Maree at Email: darrenmaree@ymail.com, alumniwine@sun.ac.za
