It all began in 1926 when she and her father, famous German artist and bon vivant George Paul Canitz, were out horseback riding and quite by chance discovered Muratie. They both fell instantly in love with the charm of the place and bought it, making it their mission to renovate and replant the old farm and restore it to its former grandeur. After her father died in 1958, she inherited the farm which she ran on her own for almost 30 years. She continued to make wine and ride her horse well into her 80s, eventually only stopping, she insisted, ‘because the horse is too old.’ Fiercely protective of Muratie’s legacy, she honoured the estate with love and passion, keeping everything exactly the way it was in her father’s time - the cellar, the manor house, the art studio he built from bricks made on the farm, and his famous ‘kneipzimmer’ (drinking den) - everything is still very much the same today. At the advanced age of 87 and having no descendants, she was looking for a suitable successor, and no one was more perfect than Ronnie Melck. A direct descendant of the legendary Martin Melck (who together with his descendants, owned Muratie for 134 years), Ronnie had nurtured a 30-year-long dream of returning Muratie to the Melck fold. The sale was sealed with a promise that Ronnie would keep Muratie exactly as it was at the time. Thanks to the Melck family’s passionate guardianship, this memorable legacy lives on at Muratie, where time has largely stood still, where the unique old-world ambience is almost tangible.

Purchase: The Muratie Alberta Annemarie Merlot 2018 is available at the estate, online at www.muratie.co.za/wine/buy-wine/ and at select fine wine merchants around the country.