Eight questions for the interested and interesting: Jonathan Oxenham

Jonathan Oxenham divides his time between the vineyard and the waves. As the son of acclaimed winemaker Catherine Marshall, he grew up with grape juice underfoot, jazz in the background and wine all around him, making the family business feel almost inevitable. When he’s not running the cellar at Catherine Marshall Wines, he’s usually surfing, a lifelong passion that rivals his love of wine. We first met Oxenham while he was selling his family’s wines and were immediately struck by both his infectious enthusiasm and encyclopaedic wine knowledge. We put our eight questions to him.

What’s the best book you’ve read in the past year, and why?

Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five. A short, wonderfully whacky anti-war novel and a great introduction to Tralfamadorian philosophy.

How do you keep fit?

Surfing is my litmus test for fitness. Sometimes the litmus tells me to go for a run. Working in the cellar also helps keep me active, as does a healthy supply of pinot noir.

Week-night, low-key restaurant go-to?

Olympia Café in Kalk Bay. If there’s a table. Share the mussels with a bottle of chenin.

What is the one artwork you’ll always love, and why? (You don’t have to own it!)

Matisse’s La Danse. It reminds me of the annual foot-stomp parties we had when I was a child. One of our first wine labels was our own interpretation of the piece. It also symbolises the highest destiny of man on earth: to evolve into purely aesthetic beings, living in the moment. The understanding that the dance is everything.

Do you have a hobby? What is it?

Looking at weather patterns, usually on Windy and Windguru. Walking in the mountains thinking about rocks. Films and books.

The one unusual item you can’t live without?

I never go anywhere without my blue kikoi. And a copy of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Who was your high school celeb crush?

Avril Lavigne. I was her sk8er boi.

Three songs you’d take to a desert island?

Oino by LA Priest, for when I’m building my beach shack. This Must Be the Place by Talking Heads, for when I want to dance. Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd, for when I’m feeling lonely.

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_{Top image: supplied.}