Meet the Winemaker | Gynore Hendricks and the Great Heart Story
Every glass of Great Heart Wines tastes of South African sunshine and the remarkable people who make it.
Poured in the Great Heart Wine Boutique and restaurants at Le Quartier Français in Franschhoek, each glass carries with it a story of transformation, craft and a shared sense of ownership that makes it unlike almost anything else in South African wine.
The Story Behind the Name
Great Heart was founded in 2020, born from a vision that went well beyond making good wine. The name itself speaks to the label’s founding purpose: to improve the lives and livelihoods of the people who are shareholders in the business. The winery is 100% owned by the workers involved in making the wine, ensuring that they profit directly from sales and participate in winemaking decisions. As winemaker Gynore Hendricks explains, “It is about giving back to its people. That intention is not a marketing line. It is the reason the company exists, and it shows up in every bottle.”
The label, created by South African artist, Jaco Sieberhagen, was designed to carry this story visually. Hendricks hopes that - when guests encounter a bottle of Great Heart for the first time - the label speaks for itself and the people behind it, as much as the wine does.
The Winemaker Behind the Wines
Gynore Hendricks came to Great Heart through one of the most prestigious pathways in South African wine. A graduate of the Cape Winemakers Guild Protégé Programme, she describes the experience as a once in a lifetime opportunity - one that went far beyond technical winemaking to encompass life skills, business management and the kind of exposure to exceptional mentors that shapes a winemaker for life.
She joined Mullineux Wines in December 2018 as a Guild Protégé, staying on as Assistant Winemaker for them in the Swartland before taking on the Great Heart winemaking role when the company was created in 2020. Her approach to the wines is deeply considered and with minimal intervention. “We tend to let the vineyards speak for themselves”, she says, “With a gentle approach in the winery to make authentic Great Heart wines that still express the place and terroir they come from.”
The Wines Themselves
Great Heart draws from vineyards across the Swartland, Stellenbosch and Ceres, three regions with distinct personalities that Gynore navigates with a light hand. Working with sustainable vineyards is central to the philosophy, as is understanding the climate as the single most
important variable in every vintage. The result is a range of wines that feel genuinely alive, shaped by the land and the season rather than engineered in the cellar.
The Chenin Blanc and Red Blend have both received strong critical recognition, but when asked which wine feels most personally hers, Gynore points to the Cabernet Franc. “It is such a delicate and difficult grape to work with”, she explains. “I tend to be very gentle with this grape variety.” That quality of attentiveness, of letting something fragile become something extraordinary through patience and care, runs through the entire range.
A Shared Philosophy at Le Quartier Français
The connection between Great Heart and Leeu Collection is more than a commercial partnership. Both are built around a belief that luxury and humanity are not opposing forces.
For guests at Le Quartier Français, the wine tasting experience offers a rare opportunity to experience this philosophy directly. Guests encountering South African wine for the first time will find in Great Heart something that speaks of “pure South African sunshine and spirit”, as she puts it. The wines are generous, expressive and deeply rooted in the land and the people who tend it.
A Pioneering Model for the Industry
Great Heart is a young brand, but the story it is writing for the South African wine industry is significant. Gynore sees substantial growth ahead, driven by a sense of shared ownership that shows up in the wines themselves.
More than growth, though, what she hopes Great Heart leaves behind is a lasting impression of what is possible. It reflects a pioneering model for meaningful transformation and shared equity. It is also about social sustainability through empowerment and in a wine industry still navigating its own evolution, that is a statement worth raising a glass to.
Guests staying at Leeu House or Le Quartier Français can experience the Great Heart wine tasting as part of their complimentary inclusions, while guests at Leeu Estates and visitors exploring the Cape Winelands for the day can book a tasting directly at the Great Heart Wine Boutique.
FAQs
What is Great Heart Wines?
Great Heart Wines is a South African wine brand founded in 2020 by Mullineux and Leeu Family Wines, with the entire team as co-owners and shareholders. The brand is built around a commitment to meaningful transformation, shared equity and the making of authentic, terroir-driven wines from vineyards across the Swartland, Stellenbosch and Ceres.
Who makes Great Heart Wines?
Great Heart Wines is made by winemaker Gynore Hendricks, a graduate of the Cape Winemakers Guild Protégé Programme who joined Mullineux Wines in 2018 before taking on the Great Heart winemaking role at the company's founding in 2020.
Where can one taste Great Heart Wines?
Great Heart Wines are included as part of the complimentary wine tasting experience for guests staying at Leeu House and Le Quartier Français in Franschhoek. Visitors exploring the Cape Winelands for the day can also book a tasting directly at the Great Heart Wine Boutique at Le Quartier Français.
What makes Great Heart Wines different from other South African wine brands?
Great Heart is built on a model of shared ownership, with the team as co-shareholders in the business. The wines are made with minimal intervention, drawing on sustainable vineyards across three distinct South African wine regions, and are designed to express the terroir and the people behind them in equal measure.
How does Great Heart Wines connect to the Leeu Collection philosophy?
Both Great Heart and Leeu Collection share a commitment to craft, a sense of place and the belief that luxury and humanity are not mutually exclusive. The wine tasting experience at Le Quartier Français is one expression of that shared philosophy, offering guests a direct connection to the land, the people and the story behind every glass.
