When we started this project in 2005, Dombeya was the original name of the estate, and as such it made sense to release a range of wines under that name.

However, it was always our intention to create a range of terroir driven, small volume wines under the Haskell Vineyards label that were representative of the best that the estate was capable of producing. We did that in 2009 with the release of the award winning Haskell Pillars Syrah 2007, but were then faced with something of a branding conundrum with the Dombeya/Haskell dynamic.

For most of the past half dozen years, we have effectively run both as separate brands, with different brand values. The association between the two was inherent, but never shouted from the rooftops.

In 2016, that is about to change. Since all our distributors and importers now sell the two brands together, the wines are made in the same cellar, by the same winemaker, primarily from grapes grown on the estate, it makes sense to clearly align the two labels in the marketplace.

As such, Dombeya will now be labelled as ‘Dombeya by Haskell Vineyards’, with a new label that primarily reflects that association.

The key elements are,

1- Greater back label detail,

2- Detail on the origins of Haskell Vineyards, and its genesis.

3- The Haskell gold pennant at the bottom LHS of the page, as it appears on the Haskell label.

4- A gold ‘pennant’ tree that retains the connection with the Dombeya tree, a wild pear tree native to South Africa that grows on the Haskell Vineyards estate, surrounding the connection between Dombeya and Haskell Vineyards.

We love the freshness and the clarity of the new label, and trust that you will too.

The new labels will begin to appear on shelves in the next six months, beginning with the 2016 Sauvignon Blanc, which is an absolute stunner.

Happy drinking!