Lautus

Holder grew up in the Olifants River valley wine-growing region on South Africa's West Coast, studied viticulture and enology at Stellenbosch University, and completed a BCom in Financial Management at Unisa in 2013. He worked as a winemaker at Neil Ellis Wines from 2006 to 2011, then served as Cellarmaster and later General Manager at Delheim until 2017, when he launched Lautus. The brand was inspired by his wife's wishes during her first pregnancy.

The wines are made using spinning cone technology, a method that removes alcohol from fully made wine at low temperatures under vacuum. The process runs in two passes: the first captures volatile flavour compounds and aromas before they are lost, and the second removes the neutral alcohol. The aromatic essence captured in the first pass is then added back to the finished wine. Grapes are sourced from hand-picked regions including Voor Paardeberg in South Africa's Western Cape and Coastal Region, and all finished wines are kept below 0.5% alcohol by volume.

The range spans still and sparkling wines, available in both bottles and cans. Since launching, Lautus has expanded to 16 countries and is stocked in leading retailers and restaurants. The brand aims to become a leading producer in South Africa's de-alcoholised wine category.