Andre Rousseau, the former viticulturist and winemaker of Constantia Uitsig, is producing his own wine under his label Rousseau Wines.

After having studied Viticulture at Elsenburg Agricultural College in Stellenbosch, Andre started his career as viticulturist and assistant winemaker at Twee Jonge Gezellen in Tulbagh in 1990, where he worked and learnt under the watchful eye of the late NC Krone.It was during his years at Twee Jonge Gezellen, that Andre’s deep passion for farming and winemaking was born. Andre joined Constantia Uitsig in 1998, as viticulturist and winemaker. The first few years there were spent replanting and upgrading the vineyards,and soon the quality of Constantia Uitsig wines improved until all of their wines were rated 4 stars or more on the Platters Wine Guide, the most authoritative guide to South African wines.

In 2015, due to new ownership of Constantia Uitsig, Andre took a leap of faith and started his own winemaking company, Rousseau Wines. Using only the best quality grapes from the Cape Town and close surrounding winelands, Andre produces each vintage with passion at Steenberg Cellars in Tokai. He currently produces three boutique wines, each named after an important woman of the Rousseau family tree. His flagship wine, Sacharia (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018) named after his great-grandmother, is a Wooded Sauvignon Blanc. His Bordeaux Red Babette (2015, 2016) is named after his late sister-in-law, who lost her eleven year battle against cancer three years ago, and was a strong inspiration to Andre. Finally his Sauvignon Blanc, Grace (2016, 2017, 2018) is dedicated to his mother, Grace Rousseau, who turned 82 this year.

Rousseau Wines is not available for purchase in retail stores, but is sold directly from the producer to well-known restaurants in the Cape Town Area (La Colombe, La Petite Colombe, Protégé, Foxcroft, Fyn), as well as personally to private wine lovers.

For Andre, the best part of the job is the time he spends working with his team in the vineyards, watching the vines and grapes grow through the different seasons. Secondly, Andre is passionate about the tasting and careful blending of the wines.

In his own words,
“My motivation is to produce a final product that is worthy of all the hard work and
dedication that has gone into it, which is reflected in the enjoyment of the wine by our
loyal customers”.