30 winemakers under 40 to watch (part one)

8. Matthew Day (28)

Fresh-faced Matthew Day has big shoes to fill, having been made winemaker at Klein Constantia in the Constantia Valley, makers of Napoleon’s favourite sweet wine, Vin de Constance. Day grew up in Johannesburg, but an interest in winemaking saw him relocate to the Cape to pursue his passion.

After graduating from Stellenbosch University with a degree in oenology, he flew the nest to work harvests at Château Bellefont Belcier in St Emilion, Elderton Estate in the Barossa Valley and Dancing Hares Estate in Napa, before returning home to work at Meerlust. Day joined Klein Constantia in 2008, becoming winemaker in 2010. Rather than take the wine in a radical direction, he aims to build on Vin de Constance’s reputation.