This duo has adopted a revolutionary new strategy for making wine: economics above ego

WHEN Stellenbosch Wine Routes come to Summer Place in November, courtesy of a sponsorship from Sanlam, one of the most exciting brands, Boer & Brit, with headquarters at Natte Valleij on the Simonsberg, will be missing in action. For, as Alexander Milner, great-great-grandson of Field Marshall John Denton Pinkstone French (and the Brit in the brand) admits: "We're not members of the Stellenbosch Wine Routes, as they take a percentage of your tasting room turnover."

In keeping with historical tradition, Stefan Gerber, great-great-grandson of Paul Kruger, is even more blunt: "I love wine but I hate those people in the industry who spend their time skindering about other people's brands instead of selling wine."

The duo has adopted a revolutionary new strategy for making wine: economics above ego. Exhibit A is Bob's Your Uncle, a 550ml brown bottle containing a 2008 vintage Bordeaux blend from the Paardeberg, closed with a crown cap, for which a Riedel crystal glass is an optional extra. It will retail for R20 - or "20 bob for one Bob", says Gerber.

"We decided to launch Bob because SA Breweries is my competition, not my neighbour, Le Bonheur. We need to take market share away from SAB, not Simonsvlei."

Gerber admits he's a family man: "I love Four Cousins. It's a family-owned business that can take on monopolies and convert non-wine drinkers into wine lovers."

The Boer & Brit sparkling wine is called Suikerbossie, after the Afrikaans folk song made into an international hit by Hungarian Eve Boswell, of Boswell circus fame.

"I hate tin foil," says Gerber, so the muselet (that wire cage that restrains the cork) is secured to the bottle with hessian made by some women in Klapmuts.

"It's our empowerment initiative," explains Milner.

Empowerment extends to more than the exterior as the contents, 95% chardonnay and 5% pinotage from the 2007 vintage, were grown at Douglas in the Northern Cape.

"The wine spent 18 months on the lees," says Gerber, "but if it was bottled by the Douglas Co-op, no one would ever hear about it."

The 2010 sauvignon blanc is called Gezina, after the wife of Paul Kruger. Now while Fleur du Cap may have dropped Elgin from its list of appellations supplying grapes for its much fancied Unfiltered sauvignon blanc 2010, Boer & Brit have embraced the grassy green giant and succeeded in producing a remarkable wine with restrained acidity.

"I hate loose acids," says Gerber, a sentiment anyone sucking a Rennie after a glass of some SA sauvignons will agree with.

The big gun in the Boer & Brit arsenal is the 2008 vintage blend of syrah and carrignan, one of the best SA reds at any price point. That this one costs R85 is a real peace dividend from the cessation of hostilities between Boer and Brit a century ago.

While the duo may lack the resources of the Stellenbosch Wine Routes, they're doing very nicely, thank you, shifting 60000 bottles since May. "We have over 900 friends on Facebook and we sell wine to Sweden, England, Nigeria and Laos. I didn't even know there was a country called Laos until they ordered 5000 bottles," laughs Gerber.