MICHAEL FRIDJHON: The value of chance in the making of a winery
Iona is living up to its cool climate promise with some of the Western Cape’s finest chardonnays and pinot noirs
Most wine producers whose track record shows consistent and solid growth from the outset like to believe that their success was due — in the words of the A-Team — because their plan came together. Occasionally they acknowledge the role of coincidence. Iona’s Andrew Gunn is different: he’s very open about the series of chance events that brought him to the Elgin property, saved him more than once from bankruptcy and finally made possible the not inconsiderable achievement of creating this iconic estate.
Gunn came to wine after a successful business career in Johannesburg. In the mid-1990s he saw an advertisement for an estate in Franschhoek and went to view it. By his own admission, he was lucky it never “spoke to him”. But by then the idea of getting into wine had taken hold...
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