Western Cape, South Africa
It’s not the simplest task in the world finding the Hughes Family Wines.
You’re unlikely to find any of their bottles in your local supermarket, and if you’re not prudent enough to follow Kiki’s email’s instructions very carefully, you’re even less likely to find the farm itself.
At only 12 000 bottles a year, Nativo is the literal definition of a hidden gem.
While the majority of wine farms in the Western Cape have lost (most of) their rustic charm in favour of picture perfect bordelaise-inspired grape factories, the experience at Nativo is markedly different. Stepping out of the car, I immediately regret wearing my high heeled boots.
It’s a feeling that comes and goes almost instantaneously, however, as my attention gives way to a kind of glowing sensory overload of sunlight, farmland aromas and just a slight buzz of insect life.
A man approaches, introducing himself and welcoming me to the farm.
It’s not unusual for people to say things like ‘Oh, I could live here’ in almost every city they visit during a world tour, especially at a young age. Cape Town, however, is one of those that often become a reality, as was the case for owner and founder of the farm, Argentinian-born Billy Hughes.
He leads me to the rammed earth house, where the remainder of the tasting group stands. His daughter, Kiki, shows me inside to put down my bag and grab a glass. And then we’re off to the cellar.
Built from discharged shipping containers, stone and earth, the underground cellar is a world of its own. We gather around, glasses clutched eagerly, as Billy serves us tastings of each cultivar, and their subsequent blends – straight from the barrel.
There’s a bit of a guessing game with each, and a lively hum of conversation – “I’m not sure whether it was the Viognier or Chenin Blanc – but it’s damn good!”
Like its ingredients, where additive sulfites and other chemicals have no place, the winemaking process observes a minimum level of intervention.
How does one imprint upon a wine from the Swartland region their own personality, then? In between glasses, Billy explains various key techniques they use, such as early harvesting – between 19 and 20 Balling, and whole bunch fermentation.
We’re led next into the vineyard itself, where the artwork takes form. I’m struck again by the difference between the majority of commercial vineyards and the land that lays in front of me.
“We let nature do its thing,” Billy says, as he shows us a calendar. The farm, along with being certified organic, is also biodynamic, following certain natural cues like the moon phases for pruning and harvesting. In between each vine, a lush growth of vegetation thrives, contributing to the life of the vineyard and its unfettered balance.
Tasting from the barrel is only half of the experience at Nativo, however. The next stop is back at the rammed earth house, where the table waits, laden with cheeses, grapes, biltong, olives and crackers.
It is here where we taste the final expressions of the wine, whose predecessors we encountered just before in the cellar.
We’re taken through bottle by bottle – white blend, Flora, Amarillo, red blend and so on… All incredible, but two of which stand out.
The Amarillo: their orange wine, made from a blend of 60% Roussanne and 40% Grenache Blanc with extended skin contact and a deeply savoury flavour. It appears, at first, to fit snugly into the ‘natural wine’ shelf at your local hipster bar. Despite this, it retains an easy drinking personality, offering perhaps an easy introduction for those still on the fence between their traditional tastes and the brave new world of minimal invervention.
The Flora is similarly outstanding – and probably my favourite: a blend of 67% Viognier, 18% Chenin Blanc and 15% Grenache Blanc. Its namesake, the ‘flora’ strain of yeast characteristic in sherry-making, is what gives this wine her personality: a tang reminiscent of sour worms.
Between glasses, we share in more conversation, some light: an exchange of who’s who; some more technical: is the South African market behind on natural wine? and some more serious still: the family story behind Nativo, and everything they hope to still build here.
When I eventually leave, gazing over my shoulder at the rammed earth house becoming smaller in the rear window, my heart still racing with the magic of the Nativo farm, I reflect on the great potential they have to influence the rest of the South African wine market, and smile.
Available at the Nativo Online shop (with worldwide shipping) here