Testalonga “Follow Your Dreams” 2024

Grape: Carignan

Region: Swartland, South Africa

Farming: Organic

Craig and Carla Hawkins are two of the most important, pioneering icons of South African wine. Their label, Testalonga, was born in the Swartland in 2008, at a time when the Swartland Revolution put the region on the map and proved it is much more than a land of cheap wines. They began playing with skin contact on their whites, earlier picking dates, lower sulfur levels, etc. in a way that their predecessors hadn’t. Testalonga was born of that ilk, and today, it is known internationally as an honest producer making single-vineyard, varietal wines. When they started, Craig and Carla were trailblazers in orange wine. At that time, no one was making skin-contact Chenin Blanc with four weeks on skins; it was something of an abomination. But after a trip to Italy, tasting a skin macerated Vermentino from Antonio Perrino, Craig’s curiosity became a compulsion. When he couldn’t find anyone making these kinds of wines back home in South Africa, he took the challenge upon himself, and named his label after Perrino’s nickname, Testalonga, which is also a fabled Italian bandit. In the fifteen or so years that Craig and Carla have been making Testalonga wines, they’ve played an integral role in developing an innovative wine culture in South Africa. Rather than sticking to blind dogma, they have stepped outside of their egos to allow for adaptation, for an expanded identity, for a truer story. 

Food Pairing: A fresh, fruit-forward Carignan that is best served chilled to be versatile with dishes like grilled chicken, roasted pork and strawberry salad with goat cheese.