THE WINE
A zippy and nimble 2 week skin-macerated Chenin Blanc - a perfect introduction to the orange wine style. 
 
THE PEOPLE
Craig Hawkins and his wife Carla have been making some of the most exciting wines to hit the natural wine scene from South Africa since they started their own production back in 2008 having previously trained under Tom Lubbe (Matassa) and worked as winemaker for Lammershoek.
 
Having worked mixed parcels spread out across the vast distances of Swartland Craig has been busy planting his own vines in his new home vineyard at Bandits Kloof.  Despite being uncertified Craig works his vines organically without chemical treatments and works as minimally as possible in the cellar. 
 
THE PLACE
Once known mainly for wheat, Swartland has reinvented itself as one of South Africa's most talked-about wine regions, lying roughly an hour north of Cape Town in the Western Cape. Its hot, dry climate forces vines to struggle, naturally curbing yields and concentrating flavour, while old, gnarled bush vines (many decades old and grown without irrigation) give the area a reputation for character and authenticity that younger plantings can't match. Diverse soils, ranging from shale to granite and sandstone, suit a handful of standout grapes, particularly Chenin Blanc and Syrah, alongside South Africa's own Pinotage. What's really driven Swartland's rise, though, is a wave of independent-minded winemakers who arrived over the past two decades favouring old vineyards and hands-off, minimal-intervention techniques over polished, formulaic wines. That movement turned the region into a proving ground for serious, terroir-driven winemaking, and its influence has since rippled outward, encouraging similar projects in neighbouring areas like Darling and Stellenbosch.