Wine producer profile: Testalonga wines with owner Craig Hawking from Swartland S.A.

Looking Into Wine

As South Africa approaches yet another wave of #Covid, I speak to Testalonga is one of the most progressive producers of the country.
This Durban-born winemaker Craig Hawking is all about avoiding stereotypes, an ideology embodied in his self-designed wine labels which we discussed on the show.
They are all constructed from various photos that have appealed to him in some way
Craig was the first producer to experiment with Amber wines in #SouthAfrica not without any resistance from authorities and critics as Craig tells in the episode.
We talked about their new estate the #BanditsKloof #vineyard located in the northern mountains of Swartland and the soils and climate of #Swartland, touch on #Harzeverlu in South Africa.
After travelling extensively in Portugal and Austria learning his craft Craig returned to South Africa and became the winemaker at top Swartland estate #Lammershoek.
Craig now makes his wines from various small, #organic vineyard sites in Swartland and makes his wine naturally, with as little intervention as possible. The climate is Mediterranean with granite soils
And of course, he explained where the name #Testalonga comes from
The district of Swartland has a warm dry climate. Rainfall is around 500 mm per year, though a good proportion of it falls in the growing season.
Soils are diverse but mainly of low fertility, suitable for grape growing. A range of varieties is grown, as in other regions. Soils are diverse but mainly of low fertility granite and shale, particularly around the Paardeberg, which is farmed by many of the top producers.
And a would like to thank Les Caves the Pyrenne to help with connecting to the amazing producer
Here you can find further information about Testalonga and the SA wines:
http://lescaves.co.uk/lescaves-home
https://www.wosa.co.za/home/
Swartland Wine Regions, Coastal Region, Western Cape - Wines of South Africa (wine-searcher.com)
#winecast