As a kid, Dayton Charles (24) joined the SANParks Junior Ranger programme, which meant spending a great deal of time in nature, interacting with people and wildlife. “When I was 18, my mom organised a week at Stark Condé working with Rudger van Wyk, who’s a distant family member,” he says. “I didn’t know anything about winemaking, but as we were busy racking wine, the sun suddenly broke through the clouds above the Jonkershoek Valley and took me back to my time scouting with SANParks.”

He’d seen the light – it was the moment the job turned from what felt like working in a dungeon to working with nature.

He also befriended Rudger’s assistant, Mahalia Kotjane, who motivated him to further his studies at Elsenburg. A mix-up during registration meant he missed out on a placement for the BAgric course, and he had to enrol in a diploma in agriculture instead. Ever resourceful, Dayton decided to supplement his studies with WSET courses and during his second year, he worked holidays at Graham Beck.

Cellarmaster Pierre de Klerk’s impeccable work ethic left a lasting impression. Pierre’s dad had just passed away and although he had young kids at home, his work didn’t miss a beat. “Seeing him put in the hours and doing nightshifts motivated me to work harder,” Dayton says. “It’s what people put on the line during harvest that counts, and this was my first real insight into the standard of professionalism that’s required at this level.”

For his practical year in 2023, Dayton was placed at Adi Badenhorst. Fresh from making base wine at Graham Beck, he was eager to jump in on his first day. “There was a lot going on that day – a birthday, family interns, an Australian and a Japanese intern, and four German shepherds . . . I wasn’t there for 40 minutes when I cut my hand on the destemmer, which required stitches.”

He also became involved with UK-based company Not Yet Named Wine Co, where buyers vote for which wine is made. That connection in turn led to a harvest at Darcie Kent Winery, California, in 2024. “It was an awesome experience being in America during election time,” he says. “I rented a car, slept two nights in Yosemite and fished at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. When I came home, I’d saved enough to buy my first car – a second-hand Mahindra from a farmer in Potchefstroom.”

His next adventure was making his own wine, which Adi said had better not be boring. In the 1950s, Dayton’s grandfather used to work on a wine farm in Constantia before he was forced out under the Group Areas Act. “It felt right that I should try making wine from Constantia, but nobody would give grapes to a stranger. But [winemaker] Roger Burton had some Sauvignon Blanc at Nova Zonnestraal, just seven kilometres from where my grandfather used to work. I wanted to make something meaningful and ended up fortifying it.”

The first batch will have been aged for three years at the end of this year, while the second batch is ageing with the help of a strain of Jerez flor, cultivated from samples he’d brought back from California. “I’m doing a small bottling this year in the Pale Cream style, just to start telling the story of Constantia’s untapped potential.”

In August, he’ll head to West Virginia for a harvest with Boela Gerber. “What better way to learn from the guy who spent three decades at Groot Constantia?”

Rapid fire Q&A

  • Red, white or bubbles? Bubbles, especially the 2017 Blanc de Blanc from Graham Beck. Otherwise, any aged Cinsault.
  • One thing that always makes you laugh? The chaotic mornings at Adi’s cellar.
  • Who in the wine world inspires you most? The incredible characters in South African wine’s history, including Adam Tas and Anna de Koning.
  • Your hidden talent outside of wine? My dance moves – not because they’re any good, but for how they can get people laughing.
  • One word that describes the SA wine industry? Dynamic.

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