Pitch To Pinot: The Rugby Player Building A Wine Brand In South Africa

A crippling back injury at the age of 31 left profes­sional rugby player Burton Francis at a crossroads, but sent him chasing his second passion, winemak­ing, and he was in the best possible place to pursue his new dream.  

Francis grew up in Paarl in South Africa’s Western Cape province, so was used to grapevines all around him. A skilled fly-half, he played for numerous top South African sides before joining Agen in France in 2013 and was based over an hour’s drive southeast of Bordeaux. 

Growing up in a disadvantaged community in Paarl, rugby was a chance to earn a living and see the world. And when he went to play for Agen in southwest France, suddenly there were new vineyards, a new lifestyle, culture and language to broaden his horizons.  

He was always of the mindset to immerse himself in the local culture and part of that was seeing first-hand how wine is made in one of the most famous wine-producing regions in the world.  

And what was a hobby and side interest would go on to become his main ‘game’ when his rugby career, and his life, took an unexpected turn.  

“We had an indoor training session because it was freezing outside,” Francis recalls to FORBES AFRICA.  

“We were doing a very light warm-up and as I bent down to pick up a ball, I felt something in my back. At first I thought it was a spasm, but when I tried to stand up, I realized this was something more serious.”  

He went for an MRI and that revealed a slipped a disc. His immediate thought was, “we can fix this”, and went into rehabilitation, but after three months, he had to concede his career was probably over.  

“In my final week of rehab, I injured the disc again. That was when reality really hit me. I was 31 and still felt I was in the prime of my career, but suddenly I had to ask myself, ‘what now?’,” he says.  

Rather than wallow, Francis switched his focus to his other great passion and knew he was in the perfect place to cultivate it further.  

Living near Bordeaux gave him the opportunity to explore the varieties of wine from masters who have no peer in the industry.  

“I had grown up in Paarl knowing Cabernet Sauvignon and Mer­lot, and suddenly I was living an hour away from Bordeaux,” Francis says. “I thought, ‘why is France regarded as the benchmark, what makes these wines so special?’ So, I started exploring and studying.  

He completed his Wine & Spirit Education Trust studies and learned how the French appreciate their cultivars and wines. But at the back of his mind, he kept coming back to two cultivars that he regarded as the “king and queen”: Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.  

“I enrolled for an MBA in Wine and Spirits Business at the Bur­gundy School of Business in Dijon, France. I was 31 years old, com­ing from a rugby background, and suddenly I had to sit behind a desk and study again,” he says.  

Rugby taught him perseverance, but studying required a different type of discipline.  

Francis returned to South Africa with one thought in his mind: What can he take back home that is compelling and authentic?  

The Hemel-en-Aarde Valley (Afrikaans for ‘heaven and earth’), around 90 minutes from Cape Town, offered the perfect conditions to produce his own style of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines.  

“I wanted to find somewhere that had similarities with Burgun­dy–appellations, classifications and a cool climate. That brought me to the Hemel-en-Aarde,” Francis says.  

The transition from professional sportsman to business owner of Francis Wines has been a huge learning experience.  

He has had to find his own niche competing against more than 700 wine brands.  

“As a small producer, you have to ask yourself how you stand out and how you cross that bridge. For me, it comes down to consistency and persistence. We are listed in shops and restaurants and have started to export to Sweden,” Francis says.  

“We are still taking baby steps. I think it takes around five years before you can really assess what you have achieved, understand where the brand sits and work out how you can leverage and optimize it.”  

While growing his business, Francis is also giving back to his community through rugby coaching and helping youngsters from Paarl study winemaking.  

“Education changed things for me, so I keep asking myself how I can give back. Rugby can be a vehicle, but education can give young people something they carry with them for life,” he says.  

He is currently assisting three students in the wine industry. The goal is to see them qualify, help them find employment and then go back to the community having proved what is possible.  

“If we can do that successfully with three, the dream is eventually to take a bus of 15 or 20 youngsters from Paarl to Stellenbosch and give them the same opportunity. That is the higher purpose behind Francis Wines,” he says.  

“I grew up having dreams of playing at the highest level… it was always a pipe dream.”