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brands forever.” He also clarifies that Harry Hartmandoesn’t disclosewho someof their winemakers are at their request; they have their own brands to focus on. To date, the Harry Hartman team has worked with three separate winemakers, and moving forward there will likely be more. It is through these relationships that Sean and his colleagues have a say in what exactly is being made. Their original winemaker has signed long-term leases with a number of growers. (Again, Sean reminds us that there are plenty of grape growers out there who do not have wineries; they simply provide the fruit.) The majority of Harry Hartman’s products come from grapes, which are harvested and taken to Elgin where the winery is located. That is where the wine itself is made, aged and bottled by the winemaker. The unlabeled wine then goes to a warehouse in the Strand called Cape Town Wine Hub where it is stored and temperature controlled. Harry Hartman then designs and supplies the labels and wax and everything gets packaged at the warehouse. Most of the bottles are then distributed from there, some to Europe, some to the US, some back to their offices in Stellenbosch to fulfill online, private, or friends and family orders. Returning to the question of educating the public, their Church Chenin Blanc series is unique in that it is intended to represent a region, not a vineyard or specific site. The winemaker selects grapes from vineyards in Stellenbosch and vineyards in Swartland. He then makes the two wines in the exact same way, but with each representing the different regions. “We thought it was a really nice way to show people that if you grow Chenin in Stellenbosch, it’s going taste like this, and if you grow Chenin in Swartland it’s going taste like this.” “Myst,” their Pinot Noir, hails from Elgin, and serves to underscore environment once again. They call it “Myst” because firstly, they cannot disclose the specific site or winemaker behind the liquid, making that a “mystery,” and not the story. The story is the fact that the grapes were grown in the literal mists of Elgin, highlighting the fact that South Africa has these kinds of climactic areas that are ideal for such varietals as a Pinot Noir. “We want to shout from the rooftops that South Africa has some incredibly cool growing regions, it’s got some incredibly hot growing regions, and differential soils, and everything in between.” THERE’S A PLACE FOR US These wines are however about more than just educating the public on the intersection of wine and environmental influences. It’s also about belonging. “I do not believe that terroir-specific, estate-specific brands are the only people who deserve a place in the wine industry. There is a place for people like us,” Sean asserts. He goes on to point out that in France, generally, it’s one generation after another that looks after the same vineyards. “Here we have kids coming out of varsity, who haven’t inherited wine farms, who are brilliant winemakers, who are super creative; we [at Harry Hartman] want to facilitate those kinds of people [entering the industry]. “I am a bit cynical about the wine snobbery that [happens] around the world; it’s for some people but it’s not for us.” The name, Harry Hartman, Sean tells me, is “a bit of a joke.” It’s his childhood nickname – Harry – combined with his former partner Marcel’s last name, who he describes, in a tone reminiscent of a big brother teasing a younger brother, as the “Dutch guy with big hair.” The impression created (intentionally) by all of this is that they as a wine company don’t take themselves too seriously. But on amore serious note, Seandoesn’t skirt around the fact that the wine business in South Africa has historically been an elitist, white, and privileged environment. He wants to disrupt that. In his words, “The South African wine industry doesn’t only belong to the people who have enough bucks to own a wine farm. That isn’t fair. That’s not lekker.” He is clear that he is not advocating to rid the space of the “old guard,” so to speak – and certainly not his paying clients – but rather that the space needs an opening up. The exclusivity is what needs to go, something he argues is another hit against South Africa’s reputation globally. Education here is needed too. POSITIVE PLAYERS In 2019, Harry Hartman approached the esteemed restaurant La Colombe with Coracle, their new Bordeaux-style blend. Joseph Dhafana, a Zimbabwean sommelier, who was at the time working as head sommelier there, tried it and loved it. Joseph had his own brand, “Mosi Wine and Spirits,” and after trying Coracle, asked if he could re-blend it. They ended up doing a joint venture with Joseph, creating a different Bordeaux-style blend under both brand names. This experience gets at the other ways in which the Harry Hartman team is trying to be a “positive player” in the space. In the case of Joseph, it’s working with and elevating individuals like him, as well as the winemakers who often go unseen or unheard of by the general public. There are winemakers who are now developing their own reputation and many of them are part of the younger guard entering the space. Those are the people Harry Hartman wants to work with and create space for. Jen Yates, Managing Director at Harry Hartman, adds that they are always looking for ways to have a positive impact. “We try constantly to think: are we doing a good thing in the world today, in the way in which we deal with people, in the opportunities we try to create…and what is the impact we are having, whether an environmental footprint or how we deal with our staff? [All of] that matters to us hugely. And we try and only do business with people we like.” She recounts another collaboration of theirs, this time with Vicky Van der Merwe, Vicky Van der Merwe: South African tri-athlete pouring Vixtory 32 | Winter 2024 | ontapmag.co.za