Walker Bay
Once a ward of Overberg, Walker Bay was awarded district status in 2004, and now is divided into five wards of its own. It is cool and windy here, with more summer rain than elsewhere in the Cape. Walker Bay is a world destination for land-based whale watching. Rare Southern Right whales congregate in the shallow water near the coastline from August to November, and can be observed from Hermanus village. In the hills above Hermanus, the Hemel-en-Aarde (heaven and earth) Valley is home to refined, elegant Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Timothy Hamilton Russell planted these Burgundian varietals here in 1975, a radical move at the time. Twenty years later, a small wave of new properties began to take hold, and now the area has some 35 producers of Pinot Noir. Pinotage and Sauvignon Blanc are also notably successful. Increased plantings upvalley from Hamilton Russell have led to the division of the valley into Hemel-en-Aarde, Upper Hemel-en-Aarde, and most recently, Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge. West of Hemel-en- Aarde, Bot River also has sea winds and summer rain, but less cloud cover. The additional sunshine favors red varieties, especially Shiraz, and rich, deeply colored wines with soft tannins are becoming the hallmark of this ward. |
(Walker Bay, South Africa) 