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MICHAEL FRIDJHON: Giulio Bertrand leaves a legacy of wine and olive oil excellence
The death last week of Giulio Bertrand came as a surprise to many in the industry who had come to regard him as "possibly immortal". Despite his 91 years he was remarkably energetic, dividing his time between Italy where he was born, and Morgenster, his estate in Somerset West. He had been in the Cape for the harvest. He stayed for the release of the new vintages of the property’s wines — an event he was unable to attend because he had fallen and injured himself badly enough to have visible bruising. He had no intention of standing in front the press and trade looking anything but his best. Bertrand bought Morgenster when he was in his mid sixties and spent the last 25 years of his long life transforming the historic property (with a famous manor house and not much else) into a leading wine estate. It took longer than he expected and cost far more than he imagined it would when he made the purchase. Since the early 1990s was not a time when foreign investors were queuing up to buy l...
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