Conservation

Guardians of Heaven and Earth

The Hemel-en-Aarde is not merely a wine region; it is a living landscape where ancient fynbos and carefully tended vines exist in delicate balance. The same forces that shape our wines, the cooling breath of the Atlantic, the mineral-rich soils laid down over 400 million years, the dramatic folded mountains, have also given rise to one of the planet's most extraordinary floral kingdoms.

The Cape Floral Kingdom, of which the Hemel-en-Aarde forms a part, is the smallest yet richest of the world's six floral kingdoms. Within our valley's fynbos-clad slopes, you will find more plant species per square kilometre than almost anywhere else on Earth. Delicate ericas, striking proteas, and countless endemic species thrive here, many found nowhere else in the world. This remarkable biodiversity is not separate from our winemaking - it is the very foundation of it.

Where Vine Meets Veld

Walk through any vineyard in the Hemel-en-Aarde and you will notice something remarkable: the wild is never far away. Ribbons of indigenous vegetation wind between planted blocks. Mountain slopes dense with fynbos rise above the vines. Wetlands and riverine corridors thread through the valley floor. This is by design. Our wine producers understand that healthy ecosystems create healthy vineyards—that the insects which pollinate the fynbos also keep vine pests in check, that intact watersheds deliver pure water to the roots, that the very character of our wines is shaped by the wild landscape surrounding them.

The Hemel-en-Aarde Conservancy works to protect and restore these natural systems. Through collaborative effort, landowners across the three appellations are creating a contiguous ring of protected Cape Mountain Fynbos around the valley, linked by biodiversity corridors that allow wildlife to move freely through the landscape. Alien vegetation, thirsty invaders that threaten both water supplies and indigenous plants, is being systematically cleared, allowing the fynbos to flourish once more.

A Valley Alive

Visitors to the Hemel-en-Aarde often come for the wine but leave enchanted by the wildlife. Local farmers have documented a remarkable richness of life within the valley: over 800 plant species, 139 birds, 62 insects, 22 reptiles and 18 mammals—and these are only the species captured on camera so far. Among them are more than 80 red-listed species, a reminder of both the ecological importance of this landscape and the urgency of protecting it.

Cape sugarbirds dart between protea blooms. Sunbirds flash iridescent in the morning light. Fish eagles call over the wetlands near the Bot River lagoon. The lucky may spot a caracal slipping through the fynbos at dusk, or a family of grey rhebok grazing the high ridges. This abundance of life is no accident, it is the result of decades of careful stewardship by the families who farm this land.

When you visit the Hemel-en-Aarde, take a moment to look beyond the tasting room. The fynbos on the hillside, the bird on the wire, the stream running clear through the valley—these are as much a part of your wine experience as the glass in your hand.

This is what it means to make wine in Heaven and Earth.