Sometimes it’s nice to pull away all the fluff and just focus on the beautiful simplicity found in something.

These days, we’re all dressing up too much – or too little, depending on which way you see it. The point is, there are many wineries out there that bring out the smoke machines and lights and put on a hell of a show – but how good is their wine?

If you’re anything like me, you’ll be someone who appreciates the less is more approach sometimes. In a world of relentless Facebook ads and endless oversharing, it’s a breath of fresh air to find something that is understated and uses this as their selling point.

You’ve obviously heard of the saying ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ – I’m just full of them today. This is another generic cliché that’s applicable to this story. The world also has a scary number of people who are continually reinventing themselves or their product – but sometimes, change isn’t a good thing.

If the generations before us were getting it right already, why alter their path and overcomplicate it? This is what De Meye have done – or haven’t done, depending on which way you see it. You see (see what I did there? Ok, I’ll stop) De Meye have looked back through five generations of the same family doing the same winemaking on the same piece of land and decided that there was absolutely nothing wrong with it.

They’ve come up against resistance. They’ve come up against a strong world of possibilities and people who are expectant of change. They’ve had to fight against the current of change that was swirling all around them and keep both feet planted firmly in the reeds.

My God has it paid off. The De Meye Estate is the kind of place you want to visit when you’re deliberately looking to veer off the beaten track and lose yourself in an experience that screams sustainability and unwavering tradition.

The Myburgh family have been farming the ground beneath their feet for the past five generations. Throughout each and every new industry trend that’s cropped up, they have remained a privately-owned estate and strived to keep up with the original spirit that lives in this winery.

Staying true to sustainable and authentic wine-making practices has resulted in a no-fuss winery that’s devoid of any smoke machines, lights or even glitter. They truly believe that beauty and elegance lie in simplicity and realness. All they want to do is make great food and better wine as naturally as possible, connecting people to the generations that went before them and enlightening the millennial generation on what it’s like to not fix something that ain’t broke.

De Meye Estate Wines

Merlot: if you like a smoky steak, next time you find yourself chomping down on one you’ll want to pair it with De Meye’s merlot. With sweet cherry tobacco coupled with mint right on the back of a nose full of raspberries and violets, this deep red wine will knock your meat-eating socks off.

Trutina: another wonder of the meat-pairing world, this robust red starts off with a powerful punch of red and black berries. This is closely followed by a crushed concoction of violets and peppercorns who eventually give way to a slight hint of dark chocolate at the end.

Chenin Blanc: there’s no red in sight with De Meye’s Chenin Blanc – only passionfruit trees. With an addition of melon, citrus, and dried apricot, this wine will have you imagining a fresh cut lawn infused with light minerals.

Don’t forget what it’s like to live life without always looking forward. You don’t necessarily need to revisit the Dark Ages to do this – all you have to do is slow down for a sec, and honor timeless traditions that work just as well today as they did then.