As David Nieuwoudt drives over the dirt road crest of the Uitkyk Pass and a rock-strewn plain opens up before him, he takes a deep breath of fresh Cederberg mountain air. 'Hell, it's nice to be back home.' Home is also where the three women in his life reside.
Vintage 16
Less than 48 hours earlier, he may have been in New York, meeting with agents who sell his award-winning Cederberg wines. Two weeks before, he was probably in Johannesburg, visiting restaurant clients. And the month may have kicked off with a trip up the Garden Route, presenting tastings.
One recent September he was home for just five days. 'September, October, and November are the worst; he's in and out, constantly,' says Cisca, stoically but quite cheerfully of her husband's 100 000 km a year logbook.
This is why precocious little Emma is absolutely delighted to see her dad. And why she has him switch off all the lights after supper and light candles throughout the house before bedtime, a homecoming rite of passage. And why a week's holiday in Provence in 2010 was so special.
'We never get to go away as a family; maybe every second or third year if we're lucky. So when one of our agents offered us his house in Provence, near St Tropez, we took three-and-half-year-old Emma along and the rule was NO WORK!' says Cisca firmly. 'David and Emma swam, I read my book; it was wonderful!'
They also enjoyed plenty of good food and wine. But David's favourite memory involves the little girl he and his wife dote on.
'Emma loves ballet; one of my cellar interns had been giving her "lessons" in the sitting room every morning during the harvest before the Provence holiday.
'I had been keen to explore the rosés they make in the region. So we'd been drinking quite a bit of that, as well as rosé Champagnes, which Emma had started sipping, probably mainly because they were pink!
One morning, at the crack of dawn, I get woken up and there she is, standing at the bottom of the bed holding one small glass and one big glass, and insisting that it was time she and I started the day with some "ballerina" wine!'
Dad and daughter are two peas in a pod: always busy, hugely expressive, with minds of their own and charm to match. 'But David's strongest point, other than keeping everyone's glass-filled, is delegating.
He's got it down to an art form,' says Cisca, 'and so has Emma. They'll both have everybody running around doing things while they give orders!'
So it is in the kitchen. 'Nee wat, I'm no cook. I enjoy braaing; pork neck is probably my specialty. But anyway, we've got Koekie! And Koekie is world-famous. She makes flippin' nice food! Koekie, tell them about your bobotie!'