The Swartlandhas always been a place of endless possibilities. Looking at its undulating valleys, dense with vineyards and olive groves, you get the feeling of being in real farm country. This is only heightened by the sweep of canola fields and expansive open blue sky above this diverse pocket.Santam not only recognised this special place but decided to actively support it by becoming the official sponsor of the Swartland Wine & Olive Route in July 2015. Currently rated as the top agricultural risk managers in the industry, their backing has proved immeasurable.
The unpredictable slopes and ascents of the Paardeberg, Riebeek Valley, Malmesbury and Berg River are home to a diversity of soil types (granite, shale, clay and slate). It’s a winemaking region characterised by dryland bushvines and expressive terroir.
The Swartland Wine & Olive Route officially turned 30yearsold on 06 Maart 2016,although its true history stretches much further back to the late 1600s – the time of frontier farmers and wagons, of wild lands and untappedpotential. Since the 1800s, winemakers have been cultivating bushvines here as a way to maximise on the mild Mediterranean climate.
Spend some time in this region and soon the magic of the landscape, the warmth of the people, the bounty of the local produce and the terroir-specific wines will have you falling under the Swartland spell.
“In the past 30 years the scenery hasn’t changed too much, nor the climate and soil; and the quality of the peopleremains mostly the same,” says Henk Bruwer, one of the forerunners of the wine route.
“What has changed is the approach toviticulture and winemaking standards, and the sophistication and capacity of the cellars,as well as the attitude towards marketing and tourism.
“The Swartland as a wine region has made huge leaps and bounds over the last 30 years,” he continues. “Some of our competitors have branded us ‘ABS’, meaning ‘Anything But Swartland’,due to the popularity of our wine region, especially abroad.”
Bruwer was the director ofwhat was then the Riebeek Co-operative (now Riebeek Cellars) for 30 years (for 17 of which he acted as chairperson). He has also been the owner of the De Hoop farm in Riebeek Kasteel since 1971.
“All regions have their charming people,” says Bruwer, “but this region is blessed with special people who understand the art of entertainment. The warmth and hospitality can be overwhelming. Around every corner, in every little town, you’ll find them – ready to entertain and inform.”
Before officially becoming the Swartland Wine & Olive Route, the Swartland region fell under Stellenbosch.
“It was a quiet, sleeping giant 30 years ago,” says Danie Malan,fifth-generation winemaker of historic estate Allesverloren. “We had the most vineyards planted in all of South Africa.”
Spearheading the route, says Malan, were the people in charge of the six cellars at the time: Willie Hewett, Fanie Malan, Henk Bruwer, KlaasdeJongh, Marius Erasmus and Hennie Hanekom, among others.
“Except for a lot of hard work, it was great fun,” says Malan, talking about the early days of the wine route.
“My father had the ability to not sleep for great periods of time. One day Marius Erasmus brought him some pyjamas and gave them to him with instructions on how to use them!”
How did the route begin? “The Swartland Wine Route, like all the other wine routes, was an initiative of the then KWV to build wine awareness, as well as to highlight Swartland as a very special wine route,” says Bruwer.
“The KWV kept close control over the operations and the finances of the institution, and the chairman of the wine route was always the local regional KWV director. The first one in the Swartland’s case was Mr Hennie Smit of the farm La Rhine in Malmesbury.”
KlaasdeJongh concurs: “The KWV divided the wine production areas in different KWV regions. The co-op cellars, Porterville, Riebeek, Swartland andMamre [now Darling Cellars], and Allesverlorenand Winkelshoek as private cellars, formed part of the KWV region ‘Swartland’.
“The KWV region named ‘Swartland’ was a very disputable point and now Darling Cellars isn't part of the wine route anymore.”
Formerly of the then Porterville Co-operative,De Jongh once received the Swartland Santam Wine Route Chairman's Trophy in recognition of his dedication and commitment to establishing the Swartland wine region as a quality wine production area.
Quality is key. “All the wineries were well equipped with the latest technology and did keep it up during the years,” says De Jongh, looking back.He says that the winemakers were intrinsically involved with the farmers’ vineyards and helped them produce quality fruit. “Good quality grapes make quality wines and that's why the Swartland is always a force to reckon with.”
“My favourite wines of the moment are Sauvignon Blanc and Shiraz from the area. The Chenin Blancs of the Swartland are also very good.”
It was a combination of good viticulture and the willingness to take on new technology thatsaw the evolution – and then the revolution – of this route.
Bruwer elaborates: “I grew up as a member of Riebeek Co-operative. Cold fermentation was not common practice during the 1960s and 70s, and Riebeek was one of the first cellars to implement it. Before the 1940s, most of the wine farms made their own wines but had no bargaining power for selling their products,neither the muscle to generate enough capital.”
These days, a crop of young winemakers ishonouring this legacy by striving to make increasingly region-specific wines using innovative techniques. Winemakers have banded together to create the Swartland Independent Producers (SIP): ‘The coming together of a group of like-minded producers working to express a true sense of place in the wines of the Swartland.’
Visionaries such as Eben Sadie and AdiBadenhorst have carved the way forward with their natural style of winemaking, using fruit from old bushvines and wild yeast ferments. This, and the world-famous festival ‘The Swartland Revolution’, have put the Swartland on the map – clearing the way for up-and-coming winemakers to unleash their creativity.
One such winemaker is Sheree Nothnagelof Wildehurst in Koringberg: “I think within the last 30 years people’s eyes have definitely opened to what the Swartland can offer.
“Winemakers and viticulturists are really looking for that special pocket of grapes within the Swartland. Producers are also appreciating the interesting, hardertocomeby cultivars that work well in the warmer climate, such as Carignan and Clairette Blanc.”
Winemaking peer JolandieFouché of Kloovenburg is excited to be making wines in the Swartland: “There has been a huge shift towards a more natural and minimalistic style of winemaking, which is great, because now we actually showcase the true Swartland and its diverse soil and climate.
“We’re experimenting with more cultivars – which actually belong in the Swartland – and our conditions, and are matching soil, slope and altitude with the right soulmate!”
She says they’re planting more Mediterranean cultivars such as Grenache Noir, Carignan, Roussanne and Grenache Blanc, rather than just simply Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot.
“The future is bright,” Fouché enthuses. “With all the new cultivars producers are planting, like Eben Sadie,who is going to plant cultivars such asPontac, Macabeo, Counoise andPicpoul Blanc.
“It will be a first for South Africa and it will come from the Swartland soil. Viva Eben!
“Kloovenburg is also planning to plant Garnacha Peluda, which is a different clone of Grenache, and I am really excited about that one.”
Kloovenburg, of course, has another stake in this route. Pioneers of the olive farming movement and owners of the estate, Pieter and Annalene du Toit, remember the early days fondly.
“I was born on Kloovenburg,” says Pieter du Toit. “My father planted the first trees in approximately 1988. He loved to walk in the mountains and he would always spot the wild olive trees. This gave him the idea to start planting olives commercially, as he was worried about the state of the region’s wine industry.”
Annalenedu Toit chimes in: “When we started going to our first wine shows, we were the only other estate [along with Morgenster] with something else to offer other than wine.”
This proved to be a hit and, she continues, “everybody swarmed our stalls!”
It was her creativity in her own kitchen that saw the wide range of the estate’s olive products being developed. “I grew up with a mother who cooked jams, using every vegetable or fruit available to her. So one day a friend walked into my kitchen while I was making apricot jam and said: ‘Don’t tell me you’re cooking olive jam!’ That moment planted the idea of our olive and fig jam.”
She is known as ‘the olive lady’ and it’s her responsibility to develop all the different products, as well as oversee the pressing of the olive oil.
Het Vlock Casteel is another estate famed for their olive products. Also a family affair with a long history in the Swartland, here you’ll find a vast array of items, from olive oils and pickled olives to jams, chutneys, beauty products and so much more.
South Africa – and the Swartland – is currently making some of the best olive oils in the world. Look out for the SA Olive seal, which denotes a product as authentic.
The Swartland Wine & Olive Route, with its distinctive and award-winning wine and olive products, seems to be poised on the brink of a future full of more possibility than anyone could ever have imagined 30 years ago.