Angelo van Dyk remembers his parents as gracious hosts whose door was always open for visitors. “There were always Vespas parked out front and people dropping in for lazy Sunday lunches or quick espressos with tall pours of grappa,” he says.

Early years

Angelo enrolled for a BSc in viticulture and oenology at Stellenbosch University in 2007, but failed the first semester “in a pretty impressive manner”, he says. He had to decide between pushing on with his degree and potentially having to pack his bags and head back to Durban at the end of the year or changing direction. He’d always excelled in subjects such as English, history and geography, so it made sense to switch to a BA majoring in politics, philosophy and economics.

Ironically, he’s worked in the wine industry ever since. After graduating in 2010, he took a gap year and found himself in Italy with no money and no plan. Through an acquaintance, he found a job picking grapes for a season in Soave in the Veneto region. But it was a stint as a sommelier in London that opened his eyes to the world of wine and introduced him to natural wines from around the world. It also created the opportunity to travel to California, where he completed a harvest with Pax Mahle at Pax Wines and worked in the cellar with Scott Schultz of Jolie-Laide Wines, Jaimee Motley of Jaimee Motley Wines, Rosalind Reynolds of Emme Wines and Adrien Laroche of Lascadla. “All these people played a huge part in my wine journey, and helped me discover my style and voice,” he says.

A king is born

Angelo vividly remembers his first wine – a 2018 Syrah-Grenache blend. It was inspired after a 2016 harvest in northern California, where he met people who had their own labels but didn’t farm the grapes themselves. “It was a real lightbulb moment when I realised you don’t have to have vines and a huge cellar to produce your own vino,” he says. “I’d worked a harvest under Francois Haasbroek at Waterford Estate in 2012 and we’ve remained friends. He kindly offered me space in his cellar and that’s where the first batch of Yo El Rey was born.”

The name is inspired by the artist, Picasso, who signed his early paintings “Yo el rey”, Spanish for “I the king”. “I always read that as him believing in himself and his journey,” Angelo says. “It became a bit of a mantra for me and I’d doodle it in my journals and on my test papers. When it came to naming the wine, I kept coming back to it. I guess it’s become a bit of a reminder to always believe in myself and keep pursuing the dream, even when the going gets tough.”

Choosing a medium

Angelo works with organically farmed vineyards and growers throughout the Cape, and his approach is based on biodiversity and soil health. He works exclusively with spontaneous, natural fermentations. “The wines tend to be more vibrant and energetic when you have healthy yeast populations present on grapes that haven’t been destroyed by chemical applications,” he says. “The most important vineyard I work with now is farmed by an amazing couple called Tabby Robertshaw and Alex Chouler at Vaalvlei in Walker Bay. They have an incredible permaculture homestead setup where they farm with a holistic ethos. They make honey, grow all kinds of vegetables and fruit, and farm with cattle and rabbits. They also have two vineyard blocks – one planted with Sauvignon Blanc and another with Syrah.” He also sources Chenin Blanc from an organic vineyard farmed by Andrew Mellish in Durbanville. “It makes an amazing wine, both skin-macerated and white.”

His biggest challenge has been finding like-minded people who share his views on sustainable agriculture. It’s an approach that depends on and rewards long-lasting relationships. “Wine is so much more than just buying fruit and fermenting it,” he says. “It needs to be a collaborative effort, not just transactional. The human element of wine plays a huge part in its success.”

Finding an audience

Angelo’s primary markets are in South Africa and the UK, but he has the stock and scalability to explore new markets, which is the next step for Yo El Rey. His vision for the business includes a small vineyard to work with some vines of his own. “There’s immense value in supporting small growers in their efforts to farm organically, but having the opportunity to foster and cultivate a piece of land for yourself adds a new layer of meaning to any winemaking endeavour,” he says.

Yo El Rey is currently based in the shared production cellar at the Simondium Guild between Paarl and Franschhoek. “I think setting up my own cellar would be a dream come true, but I don’t ever see Yo El Rey becoming a massive production,” he says. “I’d like to continue slowly growing it over the next few years, but I foresee it staying small and agile.”

When he’s not sipping on Dan Colombo’s Can’t Do Without You Colombar 2024, he’s out on a motorcycle, the wind in his hair, fly-fishing at his favourite spots or pursuing his new hobby, sailing.

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