I am excited, having just had a preview of the wines that we will be drinking at The Oxford Times Wine Club Dinner at the Cherwell Boathouse. The South African Vergelegen estate has a fabulous history. It was founded in 1700 when Willem Adriaan van der Stel, Governor of the Dutch colony, the Cape of Good Hope, was granted land in the valley of the Lourens River up the Hottentots Holland mountain range overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

Over four years Van der Stel, an avid horticulturist and agronomist, transformed this virgin land into a highly productive property. He laid out fruit orchards, cultivated some half-a-million vines, and planted oaks and a camphor forest.

Van der Stel was the target of considerable envy and, in 1705, a group of independent landowners, drafted a petition to the authorities accusing him of misusing company monies and labour to enrich himself, cornering the market for his own produce and spending more time on Vergelegen than governing the colony.

In October 1706 he was dismissed as governor and recalled to the Netherlands. Vergelegen was confiscated and orders were given for it to be subdivided and sold and for the dwelling house to be demolished.

Over the next century, Vergelegen fell into a state of neglect under a succession of owners, none with the vision or the means to maintain it. In 1798 Vergelegen was bought by the Theunissens, who kept it in the family for another 100 years and managed to farm relatively successfully, building a new cellar and resurrecting the vineyards. Come the 20th century, Vergelegen was bought by a series of considerably more motivated owners who progressively restored the estate to its former glory and ultimately developed it further; though vineyards did not get a serious look-in until 1987 when current owners, Anglo American plc, bought Vergelegen.

Despite its comparative infancy in wine-producing terms, Vergelegen has today a reputation on the global stage that would have made van der Stel proud.

We have picked five of the wines for the dinner: a refreshing Sauvignon Blanc; a rich, sumptuous Semillon/Sauvignon blend; one of the most-concentrated, punchy Shiraz wines I have tasted in a while; the 2003 Flagship Red and the magnificent powerhouse that is the Vergelegen V.

I was struck by the clarity of fruit and the expressive nature of all of the wines. Their quality was undeniable and I urge you to take the opportunity to taste them with us .

Two key members of the Vergelegen team are coming to talk us through the wines; Don Tooth, the managing director, and Andre Van Rensburg, chief winemaker, .

The menu has been specially chosen to complement the wines. Details bottom left.