The wines coming out of Badenhorst Curator tell the story of a family thoroughly immersed in the Constantia winegrowing region. The Swartland property is owned by cousins Hein and Adi Badenhorst, whose grandfather was farm manager of Groot Constantia for 46 years.
The pair grew up in this area, where their fathers also farmed, with Adi first helping to make a wine at the tender age of just 13. He went on to study in Elsenburg before gaining valuable experience in France and New Zealand as well as at local cellars.
After nine years as winemaker at the renowned Stellenbosch estate Rustenberg, in 2008 Adi teamed up with his cousin to buy a 60-hectare piece of land in the Paardeberg area, restoring a neglected cellar and using the land to produce natural wines created with traditional biological farming practices. The site has since expanded to 180 hectares, but the approach remains traditional and the wines retain a great amount of character.
