A family from Belgium held a launch on 24 February to reveal
\ntheir maiden vintages produced at their new wine farm in the Upper-Hemel-en-Aarde-valley
\nwhere they will be producing Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
C\u00e9line Haspeslagh and her husband Frederik Herten recently
\nlaunched Hasher Family Estate aptly named after the first three syllables from
\ntheir surnames hence the Hasher. \u201cThe names shows the coming together of two
\nfamilies and building something for the future,\u201d says Frederik. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The event attracted a number of local and international wine
\nenthusiasts, who were treated to tastings of the Fat Lady (the very last
\nvintage ever produced from a block of 24-year-old sauvignon blanc vines), the
\nMarimist (a wooded chardonnay that celebrates the Atlantic Ocean mist that
\ncools down the valley) and the Ernest (an elegant pinot noir named after
\nFrederik and C\u00e9line\u2019s firstborn son).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Frederick has been coming to Hermanus for the past 25 years
\nand he never thought for once that he will end up in the valley. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn Belgium I was a commercial lawyer. Celine was a HR
\nprofessional, and she comes from a family that has a agricultural business.
\nThrough the years I developed a passion for wine but it was always n the side
\nand I never intended to do something professional.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And then he became a sommelier. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI started doing wine distribution in Belgium but then
\nCovid-19 hit and the world stopped. We are very busy and we have demanding jobs
\nwith three children. So we finally got some time to contemplate,\u201d says
\nFrederik. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This got the family thinking and they started looking at
\nagricultural opportunities in South Africa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe decided life is short and we should pursue our dreams,\u201d
\nsays C\u00e9line. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Frederik jokes and says when he is in a retirement home one
\nday then he wants to be the guy that is sitting and telling stories of his life
\nand not the guy who is left listening to the stories of others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThrough some contacts we got in touch with some acquisition
\nopportunities in Stellenbosch and that is when I called JC Martin from Creation
\nWines and I asked JC to come and visit the wine farm in Stellies with me. He
\nsaid yes but he asked why Stellenbosch? I said I looked at Hemel-en-Aarde but
\nnothing here met our parameters. JC then said that I should come with him and
\nknock on some doors in the Hemel-en-Aarde-valley.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As it turned out the previous owners of Sumaridge Wine
\nEstate were thinking of passing on the wine estate but not sure and they said
\nthat if the right person with the right values turns up they might be
\ninterested. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAfter three months of chatting they were ready to sell.
\nBefore we knew it, we had signed a sale agreement for the farm and we moved in
\nlast year August and in September the transfer took place. And as we speak we
\nare now in charge of this wine estate for six months,\u201d says Frederik. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first changes the couple implemented at Hasher Family
\nEstate was to appoint (for the first time ever) a farm manager and a sales and
\nmarketing manager. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe also decided to rebrand to Hasher Family Estate with a
\nnewly designed logo. We will be focusing on chardonnay and pinot noir because
\nwe want to listen to what the terroir is telling us,\u201d says Frederik. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Terroir is a French word and when someone says that this
\nwine shows terroir, they actually mean that this wine tastes the way a wine
\ngrown in a specific region should taste. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat diversifies the Upper Hemel-en-Aarde from the rest of
\nthe Hemel-en-Aarde-valley is we have decomposed granite that gives the wine a
\nlot of fruitiness. And if you do a blind tasting in Hemel-en-Aarde-valley you
\nwill be able to pick up that this specific wine is from Upper-Hemel-en-Aarde,\u201d
\nsays Frederik. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hasher Family Estate is also changing from a cellar driven
\nwines to terroir driven wines. \u201cWe treat our vineyards like babies. We
\nincorporate an intense programme of rejuvenation. This had to be done because
\nthese vineyards needed love again.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
They will also be implementing organic farming methods and
\nthey will step away from chemical fertilization. \u201cWe live on a farm, and we see
\nour kids running through our vineyards. That is why we chose to go the organic
\nroute. We are not looking for an organic label for Hasher Family Estate, we are
\ndoing it for the quality of the wine,\u201d says C\u00e9line. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
They are also planning on redesigning the cellar to go fully
\non gravity feed. \u201cIn our cellars we want to do as little pumping as possible.
\nWe try to avoid methods that are too brutal in the cellar.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Frederik they are planning to allocate 50
\nhectars of the farm to wildlife and nature preservation. The farm will also be
\npart of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) conservation champions. \u201cWe are also
\nplanning to protect and nurture the 22 hectars of fynbos that we have on the
\nfarm,\u201d explains Frederik. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have been invited to a lot of braais and have been
\naccepted by everyone in the community. Every single farmer has come to
\nintroduce themselves to us. According to us Hermanus is an extremely community
\nbased town where everyone cares for each other,\u201d concludes C\u00e9line.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A family from Belgium held a launch on 24 February to reveal their maiden vintages produced at their new wine farm in the Upper-Hemel-en-Aarde-valley where they will be producing Pinot Noir and Chardonnay 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