More wine farms change hands

Francois Theunissen, general manager of Dornier Wines in Stellenbosch, has announced that operating company Christoph Dornier Wines Pty Ltd came under new ownership on 22 December 2020. Dornier was founded in 1995 by Swiss artist Christoph Dornier, son of aircraft designer Claude Dornier and remained in the family after his death in 2008. Locally owned Wildebosch Wines have acquired the business, with key staff apparently set to remain in place, but no further details are available as yet.

Meanwhile, Manley Wine Estate in Tulbagh was bought by Markus Ehehalt, a former Bosch engineer from Stuttgart in Germany from David Ovenden, a London-based South African, in August of last year. Joshua van Blommestein stays on as winemaker, having joined in September 2019.