Paserene Wines_ New Franschhoek Home_ ThroughMyWineGlass

Just over a week ago I visited the Franschhoek Wine Route and saw a team of  men frantically working on this piece of wall,  fast forward to a few days later and this is the result.

Welcome to Paserene the new addition to the Franschhoek Wine Route

The luxury boutique winery owned by winemaker Martin Smith and established businessman Ndabe Mareda… described by the formidable men as a sign of unity.

A symbol of what can be achieved when we look pass our differences as and focus on what we have in common. 

With that being said the ribbon cutting commenced and #SundownerWithPaserene seemed fitting.

This high-end boutique wine brand includes

Paserene Chardonnay (W.O Elgin)_Paserene Marathon, a Bordeaux-style red and Paserene Union, a Rhône-inspired red blend.

Since their first vintage in 2013, these wines have only grown in esteem and associated interest – most recently culminating in Paserene Chardonnay 2015 receiving a 5-Star rating in Platter’s Wine Guide 2018.

Paserene’s wine labels are filled with emotion and tells their own story – created by Lorraine Loots, Carmen Ziervogel, and Lauren Ann McCarthy –

You get to enjoy an authentic space from where to take flight. The swallow on the Marathon was created by Lorraine to commemorate Smith’s time in in the United States, and his traveling between South Africa and there. The colours used refer to the warmth and energy of the wine. The wine is like that too. 100% Chardonnay that is fragile and yet powerful.

The name Paserene comes from the Latin word Passeriformes, the order of “traveling and free” birds containing swifts and swallows, and is also a play on the common house martin, a migratory passerine bird of the swallow family.

With this as inspiration, the new facilities reflect this ‘flight of the swallow’. Conceptualised and designed by SCS Architects, Etienne Stols, Principle Architect said: “The building was designed to complement the current landscape and not to be in competition but in harmony with its surroundings by creating an architectural language of hoes materials and soft organic forms.”.

The result is a contemporary, but classically understated building resembling a martin’s nest: light wooden cladding is used to create a modern-style ‘crypto-porticus’, offset against rough slate accents, resembling the mud and clay swallows use to build their nests. Glass stack doors allow for the whole building to become an open structure, transforming the beautiful exterior into a natural extension of the interior. The facilities overlook a small dam, a clever nod towards the swallow’s habit of swooping over water.   

He adds: “I am a precision winemaker, although I rarely add anything to my wines and I do not filter them, I spend a lot of time and effort on what exactly goes into the bottle. I want the person who drinks my wine to feel that it is a very special moment. When an architect creates his life’s work, you can marvel at it for 100 years to come. My life’s work you will wee out within an hour, so I better make that moment count.”

So if you’ve enjoyed this precision winemakers work in the comfort of your home.. why not venture out to the beautiful Franschhoek Wine Valley and visit Paserene’s new home.

The new Paserene tasting room is open from Wednesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 17:00
Contact: 021 8762714