Maanschijn

Maanschijn — pronounced 'Maan-Schein,' the Dutch word for moonlight — takes its name from Maanschynkop, the tall mountain peak that looms directly behind the cellar in the Walker Bay wine district near Hermanus. It is a winery built on friendship, a shared education and a love of ancient grape varieties.

Douglas Mylrea and Paul Hoogwerf attended both high school and university together. They studied winemaking at Stellenbosch University and then went their separate ways, gaining experience in cellars and vineyards around the world. In 2016 their paths crossed again, and they decided to make a barrel each of Grenache Gris and Marsanne — just 25 cases per wine. That experiment became the foundation of Maanschijn.

The winery operates from a heritage building on the lagoon in the heart of Walker Bay. The building has lived many lives: it was once a stable, then home to a local resident named Oom Sampie, who used to dry indigenous flowers there for sale at the local market. Today it houses a low-intervention cellar where Doug and Paul craft wines that aim to capture the essence of the Walker Bay zone.

Their focus has crystallised into two wines: the Herbarium Red and the Herbarium White. The name nods to the building's botanical past and to the winemakers' approach of gathering a broad mix of traditional, ancient South African cultivars from different plots across the region, assembling them like a botanical collection. The Herbarium White blends Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Chenin Blanc and Chardonnay — the classic white quartet of the Cape — while the Herbarium Red brings together Pinotage, Syrah and Mourvedre. Both wines are fermented with minimal intervention, drawing on Walker Bay's varied sandstone, quartz and clay soils for a distinctive stony and saline minerality.

Maanschijn is intimate and artisanal. Open selected days of the week, the cellar offers tastings alongside platters and picnic baskets. The setting on the lagoon, with views of vineyards, mountains and water, has a rustic beauty that matches the character of the wines. Dog-friendly, wheelchair-accessible and run with genuine warmth, Maanschijn is a destination for wine lovers who value authenticity, natural winemaking and the kind of discovery that only comes from a small producer following its own path under the moonlight.

The Herbarium White — a blend of roughly 40% Sauvignon Blanc, 22% Semillon, 21% Chenin Blanc and 17% Chardonnay — offers a textured, layered expression of the Cape's classic white quartet, while the Herbarium Red weaves Pinotage, Syrah and Mourvedre into a medium-bodied wine with Walker Bay's characteristic saline edge. Both are made in small quantities, and both reward the kind of drinker who prizes individuality over brand recognition. In a wine industry that often rewards scale, Maanschijn is a quiet reminder that two friends with a shared education and a heritage cellar can make something genuinely special.