Testalonga
Production
45 bottles
Craig Hawkins and Carla HawkinsTestalonga was started by husband and wife, Craig and Carla Hawkins, in 2008. After many years of traveling the world making wine (Matassa, Terroir Al Limit, Dirk Niepoort, and many others), they settled in the Swartland region of South Africa and made 2 barrels of a macerated Chenin (the first orange wine made in South Africa!)In 2015, they purchased land on the Northern mountains of Swartland and they started planting vines in 2018. The farm is called Bandits Kloof (kloof means ‘ravine’ in Afrikaans) and is being planted with Mediterranean (the climate similar to the south of France/Sicily) grape varieties like Grenache, Grenache Blanc, Mourvèdre, Carignan, Frappato, Maccabeu, etc. Currently they have 4 hectares planted and will slowly grow to 9 hectares.The grapes for the El Bandito and Baby Bandito wines all come from organically, dry-farmed vineyards that they rent or work closely with the owners. It is a total of 14 hectares, 9 planted on granite and the rest on sandstone. These are mostly all old vineyards, the oldest being from 1961 (1972 is the year they were registered).The winemaking is with minimal manipulation – basically no additives or corrections in the cellar, no fining, natural fermentations, and minimal to no sulphur before bottling.
Wines from this producer
Commitment to Craft Wine
We are dedicated to craft wine. Real wine produced by real people in limited quantity, from the new generation of natural winemakers to the classic high-end Burgundians. Sorry, no industrial wine here!
Selling Wine is an Art, Just Like Making It
We are not just another Direct-to-Consumer website. Actually, we don't sell directly to consumers at all, as we believe selling wine is an art. We don't want to replace it, rather just make it easier, so you can focus on the art.
The Trade Should Be as Liquid as Wine
We believe the trade should be as fluid as wine. Processes, information and transactions should flow as a fine wine, in and out of a Zalto glass. That's where a Digital Platform can help.
Winemakers First, Always
For the wine market to be healthy, firstly it must take care of the producers. We believe that the trade should be fair and transparent, across all channels, from the producer to the final consumer.
