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American-born Ginny Povall, who worked in New York City for most of her adult life, confesses to not having a posh background in winemaking. She arrived in South Africa in 2008 with some basic knowledge of winemaking through evening and weekend courses spent at UC Davis and "a ton of reading" over the years. The majority of those courses were in viticulture, with some wine chemistry and analysis thrown in. Ginny established Botanica Wines and her first vineyards on her Devon Valley flower farm in 2009 with high-density plantings of Bordeaux varieties that were suitable for the site. She farms organically, exports cut flowers, raises chickens and herds cats. She regards herself as a frustrated artist whose aesthetic shows in her gardens, wine labels and the interior design of her Sugarbird Manor guesthouse. Ginny's latest wine awards come from the Platter's by Diners Club South African Wine Guide 2024, where both her Botanica Flower Girl 2023 Albariño and Botanica Mary Delany 2022 Chenin Blanc garnered 5 stars.

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