Melissa Genevieve Nelsen knows a thing or two about cloud formations. Before she took the plunge and started making Méthode Cap Classique in Bot River, she worked as a pilot for a small charter company in Johannesburg. Words, Malu Lambert

What are your favourite memories from your time as a pilot?

We had a contract with the mining unions to fly mine-workers back to their homelands. Those were the greatest moments: taking people who had never been in a plane before up into the sky in a tiny six-seater.

Where did you learn to make wine?

It started from passion not profession; it’s still a learning process and with each harvest I learn more and more. Champagne, sparkling wine and MCC are always been around when I celebrate a moment in my life. Only once I became involved in the wine industry could I understand the process of making it. And with this knowledge, I became passionate about producing an MCC myself.

Why did you name your bubbly Genevieve?

 It’s my middle name. My parents spent time in France and shared a love for the radiance and energy of Paris. This led them to naming me Genevieve – who is incidentally the patron saint of Paris – and the aspiration that I would come to epitomise the same exuberance and enthusiasm evoked by France’s city of light.

What’s your favourite place to eat out in South Africa?

There are so many! In Cape Town, I enjoy 95 Keerom and &Union. In Bot River I like eating at Shuntin’ Shed.

Tell us about your farm, and how you started out.

 I don’t have a farm. I have had to beg and borrow. My grapes come from the farm next to the one we live on. The wine was made at Ross Gower in Elgin with Ross as a consultant. It was then stored at Luddite in Bot River and riddled in Paarl. It’s been a travelling bubbly from the start! The final product is now kept on Eerste Hoop; the farm where I live in Bot River.

In your opinion, what’s the perfect food and MCC match?

There are loads of perfect matches. I could go on and on. My classic match, though, is oysters.

When’s the best time to drink bubbly?

On a weekend with brunch and after a good day’s work during the week.

What are your plans for Genevieve MCC?

My hope is that I can make this a lifetime business. I know there is still a lot for me to learn, but with each vintage I intend to maintain a certain style that will be remembered.