In South Africa, the design of wine farms and estates can be every bit as varied as the wines they produce. Even historic estates from the 18th century have been reworked and remade for contemporary visitors and consumers.
The Stellenbosch region, around 50km east of Cape Town, features some of the oldest vineyards in the country.
One of the first wineries here was the Hazendal estate, which began as a cattle-and-grain farm in 1699 before becoming the first wine producer in the Bottelary Hills in 1870.
In an attempt to honour its history while remaining contemporary, the estate has begun commissioning artists to design its labels. It has chosen the South African artist Athi-Patra Ruga (b. 1984) to create the inaugural label for its Artists’ Series of sparkling wines.
The label will appear on a limited edition of the Hazendal MCC (Méthode Cap Classique) – South Africa’s term for sparkling wine made in the traditional Champagne method, involving a second fermentation in the bottle to create natural bubbles. Ruga, best known for exploring the imagery of dreams and myths through a wide range of media, including costume and video works, represented South Africa in the Venice Biennale in 2013; his label design foregrounds the motifs of dance and performance that recur in his work.
The MCC artist label is part of a wider cultural programme that the Hazendal estate inaugurated with the Hazendal Festival in 2024.
Click HERE to read the full article.