A custom-built wine cellar in the Elgin Valley combines a contemporary aesthetic with smart functionality.

The new wine cellar building at Habibi is genteel yet practical – a voluminous barn- like structure that settles unobtrusively in the orchards of Elgin in the Western Cape, while still packing a serious design punch. A successful blend of cathedral and workshop, this is a space whose beauty is underpinned by honest, hard-wearing materials and optimal design decisions.

A decade ago, when Canadian businessman and oenophile David Curl married South African-born Genevieve Hamilton- Brown, they invested in an Elgin apple farm. The estate included small parcels of Pinot Noir, and the resulting wines were named after Genevieve’s late mother Moya Meaker, a former Miss South Africa. Fast-forward to today, and the farm – Habibi – boasts this state-of-the-art cellar, which allows for efficient and elegant wine production.

The estate’s other premium label, Damascene, is a partnership between David and celebrated winemaker Jean Smit, with its debut 2018 release having been described by critics as “one of the most exciting South African releases in a decade”. The duo are passionate about their art – and their 120-tonne custom-made “studio”. “We focused on optimising the space and the flow of production,” Jean says. “With this building, every design element was scrutinised to allow for optimal processing.”

The striking elongated skylight, with its scissoring truss of untreated spruce, forms the architectural spine of the cellar, maximising natural light and creating that elusive “aha” moment that stops you in your tracks. Below, tulip- shaped concrete tanks imported from Italy stand on precast concrete plinths, an artful testament to the real work that happens in the space. Jean explains that the grapes don’t have to be crushed and pumped into these vessels – instead, they are tipped intact from satellite tanks directly into the fermenters, resulting in a particular profile and elegance.

As lead architect Michelle Heidemann of Onyx Architects explains, wine cellars are usually inward-facing to minimise the light that falls on the barrels. However, she says, “Here, ancient oak trees shade the building from the eastern light, so wherever we could, we were able to add windows – from the feature skylight to the narrow slots and the huge sliding doors that frame the view and connect the structure to the landscape.”

A strategic and thoughtful use of materials – such as untreated Nordic pine for the decking, low-maintenance Saflok cladding, and a seamless polyurethane floor, none of which competes or interferes with the alchemy of wine-making – was also key to the success of the build. Approaching the winery, the first view is of two ancient oak trees whose canopies float over the tasting room and office space. These areas are wrapped in timber cladding, which will weather in time and blend in with the landscape.

“As you move closer, the striking black box of the cellar is revealed,” Michelle says. “Eighty-five percent of the space is about production, so we worked with a team of structural and production engineers and quantity surveyors to ensure all of David and Jean’s exacting requirements were met.”

The northern side houses the covered outside crusher pad area, where grapes arrive before being stored in the adjacent pre-cool room. Leading off the main fermentation facility, the middle block houses eight conical oak foudres from Austria, while the maturation room lies at the back of the building.

Sharing the generous deck with the main production area, the tasting room was designed around three key pieces that David and Genevieve brought with them from France. Warm tones of earthy brown form an unobtrusive backdrop to the artworks, and create an inviting space for vinophiles to savour the true centrepieces of the estate – the elegant Moya Meaker and Damascene wines.

Looking for more on local design and wine? Take a look at Babylonstoren’s wine cellar.

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Now that the days are stretching their limbs into warmer evenings and the blossoms are attracting birds and pollinators to our gardens, we can revel in the freedoms of the new season.

The February 2020 harvest was bountiful for Babylonstoren. The usually intense heatwaves of the Cape Winelands gave way to more favourable conditions with higher levels of the Berg River, resulting in a bumper crop of red grapes, offering the winemakers a broader selection of the best fruit for their rosé wine.

The result is an ethereal, dry wine of a salmon pink colour that evokes flavours of the season – hints of red berries and floral notes – divine aromas for basking in the sunshine. A single sip leads to the delightful discovery of creamy rhubarb, the sweet freshness of watermelon and a subtle punch of acidity.

It is best enjoyed in the garden, paired with light summer dishes, like fresh asparagus, Parma ham, salads, charcuterie and fish.

Close your eyes, sip the wine and you’ll instantly be transported to the sun-kissed Cape Winelands of the historic farm, winery and hotel nestled on the Simonsberg slopes.

Shop online at shop.babylonstoren.com.

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE OFFER: Buy four or more bottles of Mourvèdre Rosé and get a tin of Babylonstoren olive oil as a gift. *Limited to one tin per customer and valid until the end of October 2020.

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The latest addition to Babylonstoren’s magnificent estate is a lush hothouse designed by Malherbe Rust Architects that tells the story of the spice trade and offers guests a distinctive and intimate dining experience.

The experiential space serves to acknowledge and share the important historical role the southern tip of Africa played in the spice trade. In 1652, the Dutch East India Company founded a small settlement at Table Bay. Its gardens serviced ships travelling east with fresh produce and spices, the latter which helped, quite literally, spice up the food at a time before refrigeration.

As with all of Babylonstoren’s lush landscaping, plants in the Spice Garden are either edible or of medicinal value. The main spices that were traded on these long sea journeys are being exhibited, including cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, greater galangal, ginger, turmeric and black pepper.

The building’s heating, cooling and humidity controls were designed especially to cater for the plants. The simple steel-framed greenhouse features polycarbonate plastic glazing, which helps it retain heat and protects the plants from UV rays.

Sunken planting areas surround a wooden deck which sits above a heated fish pond that serves to increase the humidity levels. To lower the temperature, cold water is run over the “wet wall” – the 8 m-long 24-seater granite dining table centrepiece – with air blown onto it.

Image credit: Dook

This pond, as well as two aquariums which have been raised to stand above the deck, contain exotic fish from tropical Asia that have been carefully selected for both their ornamental value and social compatibility. Guests can spot zebrafish, the tinfoil barb, paradise fish and the bala shark, amongst others.

Follow Babylonstoren on Instagram (@babylonstoren) for updates of the estate and news of its seasonal events and offerings. 

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Established in 2003 by world-renowned French winemaker Madame May de Lencquesaing, wine farm Glenelly has been revamped into a contemporary estate.

As you drive into Glenelly Estate, you’re struck by the sight of a rectangular building that seems to jut out of a slope as though it were a tunnel that might lead you beneath the vines and into the soil.

Its angular lines suggest it shouldn’t work, not here in the Greater Simonsberg region, where much of the architecture on the wine farms is steeped in Dutch culture. But then again, the owner of Glenelly, Madame May-Éliane de Lencquesaing, is no ordinary winemaker. The intrepid owner and managing director of iconic Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande in Bordeaux, France, for 30 years, she bought what was a fruit farm in Idas Valley in 2003 at the age of 78 to start a new venture.

Twelve years later, in June 2015, she – together with her grandsons Nicolas Bureau and Arthur de Lencquesaing, and winemaker Luke O’Cuinneagain – closed the farm to the public for renovations, which took nearly 18 months. Now fully refreshed, Glenelly has been reopened.

The contemporary vision suggested by the shape of the building has been taken inside, with a nod to May’s French heritage and her love for hand-blown glass, but more about that later.

Sandwiched between the tasting room above and the Glass Collection below is a restaurant, The Vine Bistro, which welcomes you into the state-of the-art winery. “We were looking for that French bistro feel,” says Luke, “hence the style of the tables, but we wanted to bring it back to a South African heritage so we sourced antique Cape furniture.”

The restaurant opens onto a patio with views of the vineyards, but first there is a transitional space between the interior and the patio differentiated with patterned floor tiles and cane chairs. And out on the deck are French-bistro-style tables and chairs. To the right of the patio is an area where guests can play pétanque, a form of boules.

A beautiful view of Simonsberg from Glenelly Winery.

The upstairs tasting area is split into three spaces: a private tasting room, a public tasting room, and a lounge and wine library. It’s a contemporary affair, with angular lines that reflect the building’s exterior. Large windows and glass doors that open onto the balcony afford guests near-panoramic views of the vineyards and mountain. The most impressive feature, however, is the custom-made granite bar. A great deal of granite was removed from the soil when vineyards were planted on the farm, so it was decided to crush some of the stone and incorporate it in the counter, giving guests a link to the soil.

Above the counter hang custom-made glass pendant lamps, reflecting May’s fascination with hand-blown glass. Her private collection is housed on the floor below the restaurant. Luke says the collection holds all sorts of glassware in different states, not just wine glasses, as some may expect. There are pieces that date back to 1 AD.

This is where Glenelly’s magic lies: in its interweaving of contemporary and antique, South African and French, a winery and a museum, New World and Old World. All these elements, even the most unexpected combinations, live together here in harmony.

For more information, visit glenellyestate.com.

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At the crest of the Helshoogte Pass, Cape Dutch has been given a contemporary reinvention at Clouds Estate, which packs a formidable design punch with distinctive interiors by Moooi.

Clouds Estate. If you’ve never visited, you’d be forgiven for thinking such a lofty-sounding name was setting itself up for a fall. Instead of the kind of disappointment that brings you back down to earth with a bump, however, Clouds – as it’s affectionately known – affords a spectacular view that elevates, uplifts and does all sorts of other dizzyingly pleasurable things to the jaded soul.

Perched atop the Helshoogte Pass, overlooking the beautiful Banhoek Valley and edged by the majestic Drakenstein, with Simonsberg towering in the foreground, its name really is appropriate… Think incredible, dramatic mountains and that kind of splendour. Now consider an interior that carries enough weight not to be out of place.

At barely 4.5 hectares, Clouds is an offshoot of what once must have been a larger expanse. It could be dubbed a mere “token” estate, yet  it is indeed a working farm, with plans to produce a new red in addition to its four-star sauvignon blanc, and to build a cellar, tasting room and winery in 2015. The cabernet sauvignon vines are already in the ground, and there are rumours of something “bubbly” afoot. 

For now, however, it is a small boutique guesthouse with seven rooms and five separate villas. If you’d known Clouds back in 2005 when it first opened, you’d remember a pretty, Mediterranean-styled B&B, replete with curlicue colonnades and floral accents – much loved by brides. That is a thing of the past.

Today it is an über-contemporary, five-star destination that was extensively overhauled by its new Dutch proprietors, Paul Burema  and Jolanda van Haperen, and reopened in December 2012. The owners are “swallows”, who spend the warm South African summer at their own private villa at Clouds, heading back to Holland when the weather turns.

Thanks to architect Christof Albertyn, Clouds’ tagline of “modern architecture, ancient views” has come alive, fitting snugly into the genre of new wine estates that have embraced modernity in the absence of heritage buildings. “Exciting,” says Clouds’ interior designer Suzy Vissers, of Dutch design company Moooi, “if it is done with care and respect for the surroundings”.

Without a pre-existing “Cape Dutchie”  to set an undeniable tone for the interiors (and the subsequent heritage-preservation restrictions that come with such provenance), the owners had absolute freedom to reinvent Clouds. They “were open to lots of ideas but also had a very clear idea as to what they wanted for Clouds,” says Suzy.

Its character has been embedded in the open-to-the-view architecture of front-facing glass inhabited by daring and playful interiors. Once you’re there, surrounded by the unexpectedly welcoming, iconic pieces of high design, it’s all about the panorama. Floor-to-ceiling sliding doors allow it to come inside. 

“When I saw the architect’s drawings,  I knew straight away that the dining area and tables should be situated by the glass terrace with full views,” says Suzy. “The lounge areas with open fireplace are set back, making this area cosy (and the views are still stunning due to the architecture and glass). The bar area also has a lounge verging on the terrace. And all the bedrooms are situated on the front of the building with view-facing beds.”  

Moooi’s co-founder, Casper Vissers (Suzy’s husband), started the company in 2001 with Marcel Wanders, naming their venture after their native Dutch word for beautiful, with the third O “standing for extra value in terms of beauty and uniqueness”. 

The implied irony is that Paul and Jolanda are modern-day Dutch “settlers”, who’ve brought an innovative design language to the Cape winelands. The Dutch connection is prevalent everywhere, not just through Moooi, but also in the orange of the estate’s branding, its soon-to-be-relaunched wine label and in the outlandish orange “deck chairs” by Mal Furniture that look like Eames on acid. Shlumpy sofas and armchairs by Linteloo, another Dutch label (Jan te Lintelo is a friend of the owners), rub shoulders with signature pieces by Wanders and other Moooi regulars.

It’s not all Dutch, though – a noteworthy South African art collection, featuring works by Strijdom van der Merwe, Kurt Pio and Helen Vaughan, completes the picture. Suzy says, “Shopping in Cape Town with Jolanda for the art and accessories was a positive challenge (and amazing fun). Although I didn’t have a network there, everyone was extremely helpful and pointed us in the right direction.” 

Speaking of the right direction, for Clouds, the only way is up.

For more information visit cloudsestate.com.

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