For winemaker and Kommetjie local Trizanne Barnard, the worlds of wine and ocean conservation are more connected than one might think. Through her wine brands – Seascape, TSW (Trizanne Signature Wines) and Dawn Patrol Wines – she’s built a career that not only celebrates South Africa’s diverse wine regions but also channels her passion for the sea into meaningful social impact.
Dawn Patrol Wines & Voice of the Oceans Ambassadors
Dawn Patrol Wines, founded in 2015, started as an export label but soon became something much more personal.
“Dawn Patrol Wines is linked to the Ocean Ambassador programme we started with Ocean Pledge, and the profit of this brand goes into creating this programme.”
“It’s about educating children from all backgrounds around ocean awareness and the environment, alongside how to public speak. My whole idea was that I wanted to be involved in a social upliftment programme… but because I source my grapes, I’m not directly linked to a specific farm and a specific farm community… and, of course, the ocean is another big passion of mine.”
In South Africa, we don’t have to look far for how to give back in any way – in any form, big or small, we can all make a difference. So I decided, there’s no rule that a wine brand can’t support an ocean programme. That’s how Dawn Patrol started.
The Voice of the Oceans Ambassadors Programme has now run four or five times, offering six-week courses to teach children public speaking, storytelling, and environmental awareness – with the ocean at its heart. Many of its graduates have gone on to further their involvement in marine conservation.
A wine journey that spans continents
Trizanne’s path to winemaking was anything but linear. After matriculating, she considered studying chemistry but took a gap year instead – one that eventually turned into two years of formative travel and work abroad.
Time on a kibbutz in the late 1990s sparked her interest in agriculture, while a stint in fine dining in the UK introduced her to the world of wine. Returning to South Africa, she enrolled at Stellenbosch University to study Viticulture and Oenology.
Her career began at Klein Constantia, followed by the co-founding of Anwilka Wines in 2004. By 2008, she took the leap into her own venture, establishing Trizanne Signature Wines – crafting premium wines from the Cape South Coast and Swartland.
“I’ve never looked back – it’s now 28 harvests, 17 years running my own business, and 25 years in wine – so it’s been a long, long journey, with many ups and downs, but very, very rewarding, very creative, very competitive.”
Rooted in Kommetjie
Though her work takes her across South Africa and beyond, Trizanne’s home and heart are firmly in Kommetjie.
“What’s not to love about Kommetjie? I love the community, I love the area, I love the diversity within our environment, and within our community.
I love the freedom, I love the creative spirit in Kommetjie, I love that one can breathe, our walks, our ocean… our ocean that changes every single day, our landscape that changes every single day, the sheer beauty… Wherever you look there’s incredible beauty, up the mountains, down the road, on the beach, at the lighthouse…
I think we are very lucky to be from this beautiful place that we call home.”
For Trizanne, wine is more than a product – it’s a way to connect people, tell stories, and create change, both socially and environmentally. Whether it’s in the vineyard, the cellar or along Kommetjie’s shoreline, her work blends craftsmanship with care for the world around her.
Trizanne’s wines are available to order from her websites, trizanne.co.za and dawnpatrolwines.com – along with fine art prints of the artworks on her beautiful Seascape wine labels.
