Dear Posmeester

In order to discover if Rose was the right girl for me I took her on a two month camping road trip around the back-roads of Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and South Africa. In a ancient Opel Corsa. She responded amazingly well to the test and was soon something of a pro with the gas-stove and the tent-poles. For my part I kept her stainless steel camping wine glass topped up and treated her to the occasional night under a proper roof.

Finally we found ourselves, on Christmas Eve, in the manic hub-bub of Maun on the banks of the Okavango river. I bought a chicken (the closest thing I could find to serious food, some Christmas crackers, hired a rough dug-out canoe and paid a local guide to pole us out into the watery wilderness. After a few hours of gliding across crystal waters through the searing Kalahari heat we arrived at an island in the flooded desert. We had a swim in a "safe" pool (the guide assured us he had never seen a croc or a hippo there...) our guide led us on foot to track elephants and other big game. It was a magical experience tracing the pachyderms by their poo and their prints and eventually watching the herd swimming across the flood and feeding on Marula trees.

When we got back to the island I set up the tent and decided that the time had come. And then it started to rain. Rain isn't the right word - the downpour was more like an aerial flood which was accompanied, most unpleasantly, by a plague of flying ants. Undeterred I made a fire (scouts training and some big leaves helped here) and spatch-cocked the chicken. Whilst Rose sheltered from ain and ants in the tent I grilled the chicken on a grid made out of wood skewers wrapped in foil (we had lost our metal grid) assisted by our guide and his wife - who were decked out in Christmas hats from the crackers.

Finally everything was ready - I put together the chicken, the gravy, some veggies and bread and dug out a bottle of vintage Cabernet Sauvignon that I had been saving for the event and presented it all to Rose. The effect was somewhat diminished by the rain, the ants and the fact that we were huddled in a dripping tent and I stank like a damp fire.

Nonetheless, when all was done I fetched the ring I had bought in JHB from its hiding place in our luggage and put it in the crown of a huge water-lily flower and, on bended knee (something of a default position in the tent!) popped the Q.

"OK then" was her rather exhausted answer.

We have been happily married for four years now - and I'd love to treat her to something more comfortable in the winelands - I think she deserves it after all of that!.

Thanks
Joe Schützer-Weissmann

Ps. Joe and Rose won a stay in one of our cottages on the farm! Posmeester
 

I did not have time to write you a short letter, so I wrote a long one.

Enjoy the village holiday gossip ...click, read, scroll…
 

Last night Platter’s 5 Star wines for 2012, the jewels in South Africa’s wine crown, were revealed at London’s Cape Wine Europe  Show 2011 - one of the most important international showcases for South African wine producers.

Visitors to the show enjoyed a “heads-up” sampling of the best-produced South African wines including, amongst others, the wooded Sauvignon Blanc, Hermanuspietersfontein’s Nr.5 2010.

What makes this 5 Star wine unique is the fact that all the grapes used in making it come from the cellar’s BWI Champion Conservation farm in the Sondagskloof, which lies in the heart of South Africa’s premium wine producing cool climate region. It is one of only two 5 Star wines from the Overberg region.

A full-bodied Sauvignon Blanc with balanced wood integration, it enjoyed 10 months in new, second and third fill French oak barrels and 4 months bottle maturation before release.

Just over a year ago Nr.5 2009 was responsible for its creator, Bartho Eksteen, being crowned the Diners Club 2010 Winemaker of the Year.

Earlier this year the same wine was included in South Africa’s Top 100 Wines. The Platter 2012 5 Star award confirms its status as one of the best Sauvignon Blancs of our time.

“Our farm philosophy, Good Earth makes Better Wines, is paying dividends,” comments a grateful Bartho Eksteen.

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This forthcoming Wine Festival promises wine lovers much more than they could bargain for: not only will they experience the region's newly released 2011 Sauvignon Blancs, but they can also look forward to meeting some of the prominent winemakers from the Hemel en Aarde Valley. This is the first of these regional wine festivals hosted in the yard at Hermanuspietersfontein where members of Hermanus Wines will be present in force.

Wineries to participate include Creation Wines, Newton Johnson, Hamilton Russell Vineyards, Ataraxia, Sumaridge, Spookfontein, Jacob’s Vineyard, Mount Babylon, Wine Village, Vaalvlei, Seven Springs, Elemental Bob, Lomond, Misty Mountain, Raka, Whale Haven, Idiom, and, of course, Hermanuspietersfontein, to name some. Festival goers have the opportunity to meet upwards of 20 winemakers from South Africa's premium quality wine producing region and some 120 wines to taste.

This festival brand has become known for its intimacy, fun, safe and clean environment. It's truly an all family event, what with free hot dogs and movies for the little ones, and loads of good food that will make for an easy family dinner with a difference.

Music and family entertainment in the form of live broadcast by regional radio station, WhaleCoast FM, promises a relaxed and convivial atmosphere.

Make sure to diarise to be in Hermanus for the weekend of Saturday, 8 October. Festival runs from 5pm to 9pm. Entrance fee per adult tasting - R50; children under 14 - no charge.

Venue - Hermanuspietersfontein Wynkelder, Hemel-en-Aarde Village. Booking not necessary; plenty of free, safe parking under watchful eye of employed parking attendants. Just be there!

For more information, contact Anuta at 083 388 8239 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Wyne van Hermanus Wynfees

Die komende Wynfees belowe baie meer as wat wynliefhebbers sou kon verwag. Nie alleen gaan hulle die geleentheid kry om die wynstreek se nuwe 2011 Sauvignon Blancs te proe nie, maar kan hulle ook van die Hemel-en-Aarde Vallei se mees prominente wynmakers ontmoet. Dit gaan die eerste keer wees wat die meeste lede van Hermanus Wyne die Fees op die werf van Hermanuspietersfontein gaan bywoon.

Van die kelders wat gaan deelneem is Creation Wines, Newton Johnson, Hamilton Russell Vineyards, Ataraxia, Sumaridge, Spookfontein, Jacob’s Vineyard, Mount Babylon, Wine Village, Vaalvlei, Seven Springs, Elemental Bob, Lomond, Misty Mountain, Raka, Whale Haven, Idiom, en, natuurlik, Hermanuspietersfontein - om maar ‘n paar van die meer as 20 kelders te noem. Feesgangers gaan die geleentheid kry om sowat 120 wyne van Suid-Afrika se premium kwaliteit wynstreek te proe.

Die wynfeeste het bekend geword vanweë die intimiteit, pret en lekker omgewing. Dit is ‘n ware familie-geleentheid waar daar gratis worsbroodjies en films vir die kinders is en hope lekker kos om van die geleentheid ‘n maklike, anderse gesinsete te maak.

Musiek- en familievermaak word deur WhaleCoast FM verskaf, wat ‘n ontspanne en gemoedelike atmosfeer skep.

Maak seker om hierdie egte Hermanusfees op Saterdag, 8 Oktober van 5nm – 9nm, aan te teken. Toegang per volwassene is R50.00; gratis vir kinders onder 14. Die plek om te wees is Hermanuspietersfontein Wynkelder, Hemel-en-Aarde Village. Daar is hope gratis en veilige parkering, onder waaksame oë. Nou moet u nog net kom!

Vir meer besonderhede kontak Anuta by 083 388 8239 of This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

 


Talking to Hermanuspietersfontein’s Gerard Scholtz, an auspicious number pops up. This month the cellar celebrates its 5th birthday and when counting back how many days ago it is that the cellar opened its doors, we come up with a number very close to 1855 - the founding year of Hermanuspietersfontein was 1855!

To mark the occasion of their fifth birthday, they’re promising the popular Saturday Food & Wine Market of 10 September to be a day to remember!

Comments Gerard: “Time flies when you’re having fun!”

Hermanuspietersfontein’s followers will concur – these guys aren't taking themselves too seriously. There’s always something new going on at the cellar and their Saturday morning Food & Wine Market is always a lekker experience!

They’re crazy about Afrikaans “wees” and people who like Afrikaans wines. Not to be mistaken for conservative and slegs Afrikaans, they playfully and irreverently mix Afikaans and English and enjoy a following from markets and cultures as far apart as Soweto and Stockholm.

For Hermanuspietersfonteiners wine is all about enjoyment, expressing oneself and new and quality experiences. Having said that, they’re serious about making good wine. In a competitive wine world quality is not a strategy, it’s not even a differentiator – it’s table stakes. How you behave – socially and environmentally – remains all-important. Notwithstanding the opportunities and temptations presented by social media platforms and other fandangles, for them it is all about the basics. “We see it every day – people simply love being treated like people and not as just another number in the wine buying chain,” says Gerard, “Being able to just be the way we are as people makes life in the wine business in Hermanus very rewarding.”

But don’t be beguiled by their lightheartedness - back on the farm near Standford it’s serious business. The first BWI Champion Conservation farm in the Walker Bay region is where they grow the premium quality grapes for their wines. The Cabernet Franc for Swartskaap comes from their farm and having been awarded the SA Terroir Champion for 3 out of 4 vintages makes it the undisputed champion wine of this varietal in South Africa.

Winemaker, Bartho Eksteen, was announced Diners Club 2010 Winemaker of the Year with Nr.5, his wooded Sauvignon Blanc - the ultimate recognition a winemaker can wish for. The same wine is also listed in South Africa’s Top 100 Wines.

It is clear and evident: the serious side of this cellar’s business, blended with the more lighthearted approach, seems to pay dividends.

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