2022 Creation Estate Viognier

Creation was the first to plant Viognier in the Hemel-en-Earde valley. The terroir is ideal. The Atlantic Ocean provides cooling, giving the grapes a little longer to ripen. Slow ripening ensures that the grapes gain in aromas without sacrificing the fresh acidity. The latter also has to do with the time of harvesting. The grapes are picked early, then pressed and the juice is fermented in stainless steel tanks. After fermentation, the wine continues to mature on the yeast cells ('sur lie') for another three to four months. This makes the wine more rounded in taste. There is no malolactic conversion or wood aging to preserve the fruitiness and fresh acidity.

The Creation Estate is a South African viognier. A creamy wine with intense aromas of white peach, apricot and flowers, which are combined on the palate with a crisp minerality. In the glass, the Viognier is straw yellow with the typical Viognier notes of white peach, apricot and a pinch of nutmeg in the nose.

In the mouth the wine is full bodied, rich, fruity with a creamy mouthfeel, aromas of white fruit and flowers, complemented by a crisp minerality. Do not serve too cold because then the typical Viognier tones will disappear. Delicious with creamy pasta dishes. Also delicious with a salad of chicken, mango and coriander. Coriander provides a taste explosion!

About Creation Estate

When Jean-Claude (JC) and Carolyn Martin took on the challenge of starting a winery in a remote corner of the Walker Bay Wine Region in 2002, it was quite exciting. Vines had never been planted here before, but JC and Carolyn - both descendants of well-known wine families - were determined and convinced of the potential of the area. Together they founded Creation Estate in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley. Five years later, in 2007, the first harvest took place and they equipped the cellar with the best equipment from Germany, France and Switzerland. Since then they have been hard at work. Not only with their quality wines, the tasting room has also made a name for itself.

Today, Creation Estate has 50 hectares of vineyards in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley. JC and Carolyn's winemaking philosophy is based on “enhancing the beauty of nature”. It is primarily about the quality of the grapes, not about the tricks that can be performed in the cellar. “Wine making is a delicate art that must be restrained in order to capture the nuances of its provenance,” said JC Martin. The terroir is important at Creation Estate. Not surprising, because the combination of higher vineyards and the proximity of the Atlantic Ocean creates a unique microclimate in Walker Bay. In addition, JC Martin works with wild yeast cells instead of commercially developed yeast cells, read more about this on our news page.

In 2019, the municipality of Overstrand Hermanus in South Africa was awarded the status 'Creative City status for Gastronomy' by UNESCO! This is one of only 10 cities worldwide and the first on the African continent to receive this award. For the Creation winery, and other many individuals and boutique producers in the area, this is a tribute to their contribution to achieving sustainable development goals.

About Heaven-and-Earth Valley

Creation Estate is located in the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, a sub-area within the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley. It is about twenty kilometers from Hermanus, the coastal town on Walker Bay that is also known as the 'whale capital' of South Africa. The Atlantic Ocean not only ensures that the whales enjoy floating around here, it also provides an ideal climate for viticulture. It is warm, but it rarely exceeds thirty degrees during the growing season. This is due to the fresh sea breeze and the fact that Creation Estate's vineyards are slightly higher than most vineyards in the area. The grapes get the chance to ripen optimally, but retain their fresh acidity thanks to the cool nights. The soil also plays an important role in this. The vineyards have a clay-derived slate soil called Bokkeveld. It prevents water stress and makes the vines less vigorous, which in turn contributes to the slow ripening of the grapes (due to the slow release of groundwater).

In short, Creation Estate has a unique terroir in the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge. They know how to translate this into full, but at the same time elegant wines with ripe fruit aromas, fresh acids and a beautiful minerality.