Ken Forrester: The Immersion Method
I don't know if they planned it like that, but when I walked into Ken Forrester's tasting room the day before Easter, I walked right into him distributing Easter eggs to the team. Winemaker, Shawn Matthyse, was busy helping out in the tasting room.
You can't fake hard work, and listening again through our almost four-hour discussion, these two are incapable of faking it. The proof's in the wine.
News recently broke of Ken selling the Ken Forrester brand and cellar to the French company Advini. Confused by the parameters of the deal, I asked him where he plans to live in the future. With a steely glint in his eye, he looked up at me and said: “This is home, we live here - I’ve no plans to move - I’ve farmed this patch of land below the Helderberg and learned from the land for 30 years, we’ve replanted more than two thirds and I’m currently still replanting, it starts with the soil"
Never underestimate a man's love for the land. Ken runs this business with steely resolve and foresight. He explains, Advini is a company that specialises in succession plans and are shareholders in the business, though Ken's team retains full management control of it.
Advini's international distribution channels allow them to sell beyond their original network and add that all-important global scope to a mature business ready for the next step. While Ken's family will not be continuing the business, Ken's family extends beyond blood and includes his team. Some of them have been with him for over 20 years, and who better to run it than them?