The EMINEO LIBER wines have the fortune of being crafted by two winemakers, namely the experienced Nico van der Merwe, a South African winemaker of the year, and 6th generation winemaker Thys Louw.

Nico van der Merwe

Nico van der Merwe describes himself as "pays-san", or "man of the land". He has been the winemaker of Saxenburg for nearly two decades and has gained invaluable experience in France, Germany and South Africa. For eight years he has been overseeing two vintages, namely at Saxenburg (South Africa) and Château Capion (France). Nico is an extremely talented and hard working winemaker, a reputation repeatedly confirmed by his numerous awards and accolades, including the South African Winemaker of The Year.

Nico's training includes Elsenburg Agricultural College in Stellenbosch (South Africa) in the field of Cellar Technology, practical experience as assistant winemaker at cellars in Tulbagh and Stellenbosch and experience in Germany where in the mid-1980's he studied at Weinsberg Wine School near Stuttgart. Subsequently he became the winemaker at Saxenburg Estate in Stellenbosch where he made their award-winning wines. He was awarded Champion Winemaker in 1991 with a Cabernet Sauvignon, followed by an impressive showing at The Veritas Awards in 1993, where he was the first winemaker to be awarded five Double Gold medals.

Nico and his wife Petra have also fulfilled their dream of making a wine of their own (and have bought their own piece of land at Botriver in 1999). With the kind permission of the owners of Saxenburg, Nico makes wines under his own labels, Mas Nicolas, Robert Alexander and Nico van der Merwe, whilst still at Saxenburg.

Thys Louw

Thys Louw is the 6th generation of Louw family winemakers on the family wine estate, Diemersdal. As with his predecessors, he learned the art of wine making from his father who has been making award-winning wines for more than 3 decades. Six generations of winemakers with one passion on the estate since the 1800s.

In what is believed to be a first of its kind, Thys Louw scooped four gold medals for Sauvignon Blanc at the prestigious Michelangelo Awards 2007. The wines that were awarded gold medals at the awards ceremony held on 15 September 2007 were the Diemersdal Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2007, Diemersdal 8 Rows Sauvignon Blanc 2007, Diemersdal Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2007 as well as the Sir Lambert Sauvignon Blanc 2007.