At Creation we celebrate the fact that we have received ‘Estate’ status, a term referring to the fact that the wines under the Creation label are grown and made on the farm. Right from the start it has been our intention to harness the full potential of our land in order to create site-specific wines reflecting our unique terroir. It is indeed this ‘sense of place’ that makes our wines so distinctive.
The art of winemaking begins long before the first grapes are ever harvested or the first barrels ever filled. The art of winemaking begins with the land itself, the essence of which lives in every bottle.
At Creation Wines, situated in the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge Ward of Walker Bay, we consider it a privilege to have discovered 40 hectares of virgin soils, never planted to vines before, in 2002. Establishing a vineyard and winery from scratch was a daunting task. However, the blank canvas offered Swiss viticulturist and winemaker Jean-Claude (JC) Martin and his South African wife Carolyn, marketing director, an exciting opportunity to craft quality wines in an idyllic setting while raising their young family in the nearby seaside town of Hermanus.
Part of the foundation of any successful wine estate is the suitability of its soils to plant vines, and more specifically the suitability of different cultivars and clones to the climate, soil types, elevation, proximity to the ocean and other environmental factors which collectively give a vineyard site its ‘terroir’. The Hemel-en-Aarde area, comprising the Valley, Upper Valley and Ridge, is renowned for producing high quality Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, two cultivars JC grew up with and loves working with. The area has however also been very successfully planted to a number of other cultivars, and the unique conditions on the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge led JC to believe that conditions could support a diverse range of cultivars producing quality grapes, both red and white. This belief was confirmed by valuable local advice from viticultural consultant Johan Pienaar and JC´s father-in-law, Walter Finlayson, who had established many a vineyard in his time. Click here to read more.
