If you blink, you might miss the town of Saron. It will be a great loss, though, because the town is not only home to a mission station at the foot of the mountain, but also the inspiration behind the Lelie van Saron wine range.
Having grown up in the charming town about 20km south of Porterville in the Western Cape, Natasha Williams has a scientific approach to winemaking. After all, she first started molecular biology before discovering oenology, the study of wines.
“My brand talks about where I come from – my background [in Saron] which is important to me – and I then always had this love and passion for cool climates,” says Williams.
In conversation with Brian Mahanke as part of Food For Mzansi’s Faces of Summer campaign, Williams admits that growing up, she never dreamt about becoming a winemaker. In fact, her family had strong views against alcohol living across a shebeen, and no one consumed alcohol.
A match made in heaven
She explains, “I went and studied molecular biology at Stellenbosch University and six months in, I started asking myself the question: ‘Am I doing the right thing?’”
Through an extraordinary series of events, she ended up rather curious to know more about winemaking.
Fast-forward a few years and Williams graduated in oenology in 2013. A junior winemaking job at Bosman Family Vineyards was all the inspiration she needed. She took over the senior responsibility of their 2019 range.
Her employers noticed that she had a special touch with the world of wine and encouraged her to start her own wine brand from the 2017 vintage, making use of grapes from the Bosman vineyards in the Upper Hemel-en-Aarde.
Today, Lelie van Saron’s grapes are grown in the coastal town of Hermanus, though the wine still remains true to its Saron brand roots.
Summer wine selection
Williams’ first Faces of Summer wine selection is the Lelie van Saron Chardonnay – a white wine described as creamy with spicy citrus fruit and finely poised acidity. “With my chardonnay, I incorporate the concrete egg, again just showcasing the purity of the fruit and talking about the grapes and where it comes from.”
Her second wine pick is the Lelie van Saron Syrah. Williams says she had a clear idea of what she wanted to execute with the wine, and the result is marvellous. “I wanted to showcase the fruit but also the place and I wanted to give something with elegance but concentration and depth that leaves an impact when you have wine.”
The inspiring “lily” behind the Lelie van Saron brand further explains that wine is a form of art that is transformed from vine to wine. Her philosophy remains that winemakers are facilitators of such pure art.
“I follow this simple approach where I believe we are the facilitators of the ancient art form,” she says.
- As part of its popular “Faces of Summer” campaign, Food For Mzansi will feature some of South Africa’s finest winemakers and ambassadors.
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