It’s Valentine’s week and love is in the air! This inspired Creation intern Baptiste Quinard from Burgundy to pen yet another passionate ode in praise of wine. Here is an extract from Carolyn Martin’s playful translation:

St Valentine’s Day brings to mind the Mayor of Bordeaux, Michel de Montaigne’s citation: “We never drink; we merely kiss and allow the wine to caress our soul”. That is how we enjoy wine!

In the same vein, we are reminded that wine accompanies all the splendid passions and desires of lovers. Le Saint Amour, a Cru from the Beaujolais, evokes this sentiment by its very name, as does the glittering brightness and finesse of the Gamay.  It is the wine of spring, conjuring up the romance of times gone by … of flowery dresses and the intrigue of Parisian high society in the gardens of Versailles.

Placing these thoughts within a South African context and more specifically in the Hemel-en-Aarde – Paradise on Earth – we immediately sense vibrancy: the sensual rising and ebbing light of an early morning, of the evening’s undulating ripples across the folds of the mountain. It is this splendour that is reflected in the wine glass, singing with joy, presenting the passion and treasure of the liquid gold inside. Extending the metaphor, the Creation Viognier charms our palate with a bouquet of powdered roses and fleshy white peaches, a handful of kisses.