|
I glower silently at my sanctimonious, rule-abiding photographer as the breathtakingly yellow Canola fields superimposed on the dark purple majestic mountains right behind them disappear in the rear view mirror. “That was a once-in-a-lifetime photograph you know,” I mutter sullenly. But then a very strange and rare thing happened – I was wrong. All along the magnificent Overberg on this cloudy Spring day on route to De Hoop Nature Reserve in the Western Cape, the yellows, greens, greys and purples that only nature can conjure up, unfolded all around us. Like ever changing colour filters , the wind-blown clouds cast different lights and effects on the already picturesque and undulating landscape, stocked with vineyards, corn field, canola fields, hills and valleys as far as the eye can see. Sance map - as usual – with only a rudimentary GPS system, we found the turn-off to the aptly named Hemel-en-Aarde valley just before one enters the sea-side resort town of Hermanus. It means Heaven and Earth and in many ways this area may be summed up in clichéd, even Biblically lyrical terms. It is a resplendent piece of the earth, resonating with sensory images, sounds and smells. The winding road takes us to Creation Wines. ‘Hemel-en-Aarde’ falls under the appellation of Walker Bay and is divided into three wards: Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley and Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge. Creation takes pride of place in the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge where, as our charming hostess and proprietor Carolyn explains, their vineyards are planted some 350 meters above sea level. Here ideal soil types combine with the cooling breezes off the Atlantic Ocean (only a few kilometers away) to create wine-growing conditions rivaling the world’s best. | 
