The Hermanus FynArts Festival has offered a multitude of talks, workshops, and tastings over the past ten days. One of these was a talk on Friday by Anthony Hamilton Russell, owner of Hamilton Russell Vineyards, about the history of the Hemel en Aarde wine region. The talk was held at Braemar, the Hamilton Russell residence on the wine estate.

We were welcomed with a glass of Ashbourne Sauvignon Blanc Chardonnay 2016, a sister brand to the Hamilton Russell wines, with salmon canapés. It was a picture perfect Winter’s day, and we stood on the terrace, overlooking the Vineyards as well as the olive orchard. We watched a helicopter lift off from the helipad down below. 

We were 40 guests who had paid to attend the talk, and Anthony emphasised that he was not receiving a speaker fee, and that all monies received would go to the charity linked to Hermanus FynArts. A glass each of Hamilton Russell Chardonnay and Pinot Noir 2016 vintages was poured for each of us.

Anthony took the history of the area to its very first beginnings, when many millions of years ago South Africa was connected to Patagonia in Argentina, and to the Antarctic. Different layers of soils were built up as a result, including Malmesbury shale, Table Mountain sandstone, Bokkeveld shale, and more, the soils staying behind as the seas receded when the land areas split off. The mountains formed in the area were a ‘good fortune’, he said. Another stroke of luck was that they have the closest shale to the ocean, 2000 meters away. The quality of the soils in the area encouraged other producers to farm in the area. Hand axes found in the area are proof that humans lived in the area more than 2 million years ago. Stone Age tools were also found in the area. On one of the hills overlooking Hermanus is a small Portuguese cross, dating back to about 1480. Anthony reminded us that Hermanus was shortened from its original name Hermanuspietersfontein. A farm in the area was called Hemel en Aarde, and was used as a leper colony in the 1800s. The area sported beautiful skies, and became known as Heaven & Earth. The one massive farm was broken up into smaller pieces of land over time, used mainly for grazing by its owners. On what is now Bouchard Finlayson, a 100 year old fermenter was found, as well as a crusher dating back to the 1930s. This means that wines were already made in the area, until the 1930s. Great poverty was experienced in the Depression, and the winemaking came to an end.

The land which Anthony’s father Tim Hamilton Russell had bought was called Braemer (photograph below), named by a previous owner who had links to Scotland. It was renamed Hamilton Russell Vineyards, and the residence of Anthony and his wife Olive is now called Braemer. Father Tim was the ‘pioneer vine grower in the Hemel en Aarde Valley‘ is the message on a plaque on a bench on the cliff path, created by Anthony in honour of his father. Father Tim had thrived in the family advertising agency J Walter Thompson, which his father had bought when the agency pulled out of the country in the Depression, so that its Port Elizabeth client Ford could continue to be serviced. The agency was relocated to Johannesburg, and father Tim took over the agency, where I spent two years in its Research & Planning department, working with Barbara Ross. Every Friday afternoon the agency staff met in the pub, and this usually was the only time that we saw and spoke to Mr Hamilton Russell.

It is in this time that father Tim became interested in wine, even making some in his garden at their home in Johannesburg. In the ‘Seventies our country was a wealthy one. Farming was tax exempt, and so the search for a suitable wine farm began, initially in Stellenbosch, Muratie wine estate attracting his attention. But the owner wanted to sell to a Melck only. Father Tim knew Hungarian count Desiderius Pongrácz from SFW, a J. Walter Thompson client, who had written a book on viticulture in our country. Pongrácz became father Tim’s wine advisor. Pongrácz was a friend of my late parents too. In looking for a farm to buy, temperature was important, the forerunner to cool climates, which is the trend now. Soil type was unimportant at that time, as was proximity to the ocean.  It was the Hermanus area which finally attracted the interest of father Tim, given that his father had been coming on holiday to Hermanus for many years, and that father Tim had met Anthony’s mother in Hermanus. 

At the time that father Tim started his wine farm, the KWV was taking control of the oversupply, of what was described as ‘cheap and cheerful’ wines. He was not allowed to make wines without a quota, and used that of the neighbouring farm Old Land Stud. Father Tim bought the wine farm for R58000. Father Tim was the first vine grower in the area, and was ten years ahead of the next producer to set up in the area. He set the bar high for the area, producing cool climate low yield grapes, and selling the wines produced at a high price. Father Tim got the law changed in respect of the quota system, which was abolished. He appointed Peter Finlayson as his winemaker, who subsequently set up the neighbouring wine farm with Frenchman Bouchard. Other Hamilton Russell winemakers Storm Kreusch, Kevin Grant, and Hannes Storm have stayed in the area, and most of them are making their own wines now. 

Anthony bought Hamilton Russell Vineyards from his father Tim. He added Southern Right, allowing him to focus on two further cultivars, namely Sauvignon Blanc and Pinotage. Ashbourne was added thereafter as a third property, with other investors. At Ashbourne a Sauvignon Blanc Chardonnay blend, and a Pinotage led Red Blend are made. Grapes are bought in. Winemaker Emul Ross looks very young, and has been on the farm for the past three years. The farms have been farmed on organic principles, the first vintage based on organic principles being the 2015 one.  No herbicides, insecticides, or systemic chemicals are used in the Vineyards. This has resulted in more purity in the wine, and a better fruit expression. Vineyards are irrigated, to give extra finesse. Anthony said that Hermanus receives a higher average annual rainfall than London. 

Hamilton Russell Vineyards is a small producer of exceptional wines. 

In the Hemel en Aarde region there are 19 producers making wines in 12 cellars, and farming a total of 370 ha. They jointly produce 150000 cases of wine. The wine estates in the region are small focused boutique family-owned farms. Just more than 20% each of the grapes planted are Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Noir, with the balance being spread over 50 wine cultivars. Anthony said proudly that the region is the Pinot Noir capital of our country, and could be the Chardonnay capital too, but they probably would be challenged on this by Elgin. Anthony sees the wine production of their region growing over time, stating that two new producers are setting up. The Walker Bay district was proclaimed in 2004, and smaller appellations Hemel en Aarde, Hemel en Aarde Ridge, Upper Hemel en Aarde Valley, and Hemel en Aarde Valley have been registered. 

Anthony said that he is proud of what has been achieved in the Hemel en Aarde area. The wines are featured on Michelin star restaurant wine lists, and sold in more than 50 countries. The Hemel en Aarde association is appellation-driven, and not Wine Route driven, Anthony concluded.

It was the most incredible coincidence that of the 40 or so persons that attended the talk, two were linked to the Y & R advertising agency I had worked at after leaving J. Walter Thompson in Johannesburg. David Ralph (right) was a Client Service Director, a colleague, while Piet Beyers (left) was our client, when he worked at Cadbury, thirty years ago. 

Hamilton Russell Vineyards, Hemel en Aarde, Hermanus. Tel (028) 312-3595. www.hamiltonrussellvineyards.com

Chris von Ulmenstein, WhaleTales Blog: www.chrisvonulmenstein.com/blog Tel +27 082 55 11 323 Twitter:@Ulmenstein Facebook: Chris von Ulmenstein Instagram: @Chris_Ulmenstein