Pilgrim Wines
Pilgrim Wines is a unique wine company, dedicated to inspire, teach and surprise.
It is a small family-owned business with a passion for wine making. Well-known Winemaker Henry Kotzé (former Morgenster and now at the iconic Mulderbosch) carefully crafts the wines for owner and Viticulturist wife Riëtte Kotzé’s Pilgrim Wines brand.
Pilgrim Wines does not have their own vineyards, so at the moment they source their grapes from small pockets of vineyards that they have come across. These distinct parcels of land, happen to be in their home-grown Stellenbosch area and the amazing Voor Paardeberg regions. They partner with like minded ethical growers and believe in leaving nothing but footprints for the next generation.
Pilgrim Wines focus on innovative methods with tried and tested cultivars, as well as experimental styles with unorthodox, unfamiliar cultivars. They like to discover the new and untried pathways in the journey of grape to bottle.
About Henry & Riette
Winemaker Henry Kotzé was born in the Eastern Cape but has lived in Stellenbosch most of his life, going to high school and university there and working at some of the region’s most highly regarded wineries. Most recently, he spent almost 11 years at Morgenster where he had the privilege of working closely with consultant Pierre Lurton of Chateau d’Yquem and Chateau Cheval Blanc.In 2020 he has been appointed to lead the winemaking team of the iconic Mulderbosch Vineyards.
Over the more than two decades he has spent crafting numerous award winning wines in and around Stellenbosch, Henry has developed a thorough conversancy with the region’s diverse range of sites, their defining profiles and their individual nuances. He understands in such rich detail the potential of the land and knows intimately how best to coax varietal expression from specific sites.
Director and viticulturist Riëtte Kotzé was born and bred in Stellenbosch and studied a BSc Agriculture degree at Stellenbosch University. She then worked a few years as a researcher at the Viticulture department of the ARC Nietvoorbij research facility in Stellenbosch. After starting with a family, she swopped roles for a while, being a full-time mom and running after the little ones in the vineyards, as she and Henry had the privilege of staying on beautiful wine farms in Stellenbosch and surrounds. Since 2017 she took on the role of Director and Owner of their family venture called Pilgrim Wines. As an added bonus, she also loves doing the admin and marketing for this adventurous journey.
