Welcome to “Heaven on Earth”
Hemel-en-Aarde (which means Heaven on Earth in local dialect), formerly known as Walker Bay, is seldom explored but a much celebrated destination for wine and food enthusiasts. About an hour and a half’s drive from Cape Town, just above the town of Hermanus – it’s perfect for a weekend of wine tasting, whale watching, hiking, and mountain biking.
Its heavy clay soil, close proximity to the ocean and maritime climate are yielding excellent cool-climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, Burgundian in style with a dollop of fresh fruit. Many of the wineries are starting to receive international acclaim and awards, and we highly recommend coming to visit during this exciting part of their journey!
South Africa Pinot Noir Festival
If visiting in the summer, we highly recommend the Pinot Noir Festival that takes place in February. Through this event, we spent an intimate and informative weekend with the winemakers from Hemel-en-Aarde, trying their favorite wines and the wines from around the world that inspire them.
Hemel-en-aarde wine route
Our Hemel-en-aarde wine tasting guide in South Africa makes it easy to discover the 15 local wineries. The area was recently split into 3 wards: Valley, Upper and Ridge, to better identify the different styles and characteristics. Our guide will focus on calling out the differences by wards and our favorite representations of each sub-region.
Wine Scribes recommends two days to taste, hitting 3-4 wineries a day including stops at Creation and Newton Johnson for a lunch (and of course more wine!).
Ward #1: Hemel en Aarde Valley
Located at the lowest elevation and closest proximity to the sea of the wards, with clay and shale rich soils shape the wines of the Valley. The reds are more intense, spicy and savory than that of their neighbors in higher wards.
Hamilton Russell – The Hamilton-Russell family deserves much credit for putting Hemel en Aarde on the wine map, by developing the first plot of land, and determining that Pinot Noir and Chardonnays thrive here. They are the most commercial winery in Hemel en Aarde, but we recommend a stop here to learn about the history of the region, and to experience wines from the valley floor.
Bouchard Finlayson has some lovely Chardonnays if you have time to spare.
Ward #2: Upper Hemel-en-Aarde
Working your way up the valley, the soil begins to shift to granite soil and sandy clay, producing lighter style wines full of aromatics.
Restless River – Talk about a power couple.. the owners of this winery left their advertising and modeling careers to follow a passion in wine and their risks have been rewarded! They take minimal intervention to a level we rarely see in Pinot Noir, by not even punching down the wines skins! In theory, this allows wine to have a truly smooth and less tannic structure for a young wine, but sometimes compromises the full taste profile of the wine. Instead, we found that the wines (Le Luc Pinot Noir and Ava Marie Chardonnay) were abundant in aromatic and flavor profiles. Ask to try a taste of their cabernet sauvignon, which we found to be an austere cool-climate cab.
Newton Johnson – The owner is a fellow pinotfile, so we’d focus your tasting on his wonderfully feminine and perfumed Pinot Noir. Just a taste will take you on a journey from fleshy red fruits to subtle must and earth hints on the back of the palate. The single plot Pinot Noirs SeaDragon and Windandsea are sure to steal the show. Their kitchen is also one of the top in the region for lunch.
Storm Winery – A bit of an outlier as Hannes Storm is the only winemaker to make wines from all three wards. He’s seen as the “up and coming” producer in the area and holds tastings by appointment only. We tried to get a tasting during harvest, but were unable to meet with him given how small the operation is. However, we did get a chance to try out his brother’s label in Los Olivos and love it.
Ward #3 – Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge
Further up the ridge, we reach the coolest climates, highest winds, and least clay content in the region. These vines are being put to the test, and are aromatic and expressive as a result.
Domaine Des Dieux – Need a quick break from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay? Domaine De Dieux is your stop for bubbles! They have two MCC’s (MCC denotes sparkling wine in South Africa) that are dry in nature and vibrant with flavor – the Claudia, and Sharon Rose. But please return to tasting Pinot Noir before you leave. The family is focussed on quality, particularly starting in the vineyards and have arguably the best viticulture practices in the area. They age their wines in bottle before releasing so this is a good spot to try older vintages. The 2009 Josephine was one of the best wines we tasted that week, though quantities are small so it might depend what you are able to taste.
Ataraxia – Legendary Winemaker Kevin Grant has been making wine in Hemel-en-Aarde for 30 years, and in 2004 left to start his own winery at Ataraxia. Highest of the wineries, with steep vineyards up in the clouds, baboons, fierce winds.. the elements keep his vineyard manager busy and vines struggling! He manages to pick his fruit very late in the season, but with surprisingly low alcohol – another great feat. Kevin recently spoke as to how these elements show Ataraxia’s unique terroir by noting “in this bottle is some dirt and climate blended in juice.. the Chardonnay is just the vessel”. And we promise you’ll want to take home a few “vessels” of his magic!
Creation – The list of world class wineries with restaurant kitchens to match is quite narrow, but Creation makes that list. The six course food pairing journey uses seasonal culinary delights to out the full complexity of the wines. The Reserve Chardonnay with its fresh citrus, beautifully balanced with hints of honey and cinnamon was a favorite of ours standalone, as well as paired with the tasting. Book this sensory excursion in advance!
Where to Stay in Hemel-en-aarde
Getting an Air BnB in Hermanus is the easiest option. Visit the white sand beaches, walking along the “Cliff Hike”, and enjoy the local restaurant scene. Visitors tend to enjoy the Bientang Cave restaurant for its ocean views, cave experience and wine list. In the morning, start your day off right with a healthy organic breakfast at All Good Things. Note that this is a somewhat sleepy beach town, so don’t expect much night life or restaurants to stay open late.
Getting Around
For the adventurous crowd, there’s an option to mountain bike or e-bike to a few of the lower wineries. Most people choose to take the wine bus, which has a daily line up of wineries on its route that you can hop on or off at your pleasure. The lineup changes daily and does not include all on this list, so we recommend taking it one day, then driving or taking a taxi the next so that you can hit the smaller wineries as well. Make sure to reserve ahead!
