Carl Schultz the naturalist is also immersed in the overall improvement of the land on Hartenberg. The rehabilitation of the watercourse that runs through the middle of the farm by felling a couple of hundred massive, water-sucking blue gum trees has resulted in the restoration of a natural 65-hectare wetland.
Carl found an Austrian water expert, Erich Smollgruber, to help install a natural, 'closed cycle' system filtering all cellar and domestic wastewater through the wetland to a purity level suitable for re-use in the vineyard.
A font of knowledge on all living things, Carl can discourse happily for hours, surrounded by his three little shadows, Jack Russells Jackson, Merlot, and Maxie.
Whenever time and opportunity present, he and Carin and teenaged daughter Michelle ('a keen cook like her mother') and young son Mark flee the madding crowd. It's either to Carin's family's farm or camping in the Richtersveld, the Kalahari, or Namibia.
'We keep it simple,' says Carin. 'We're not the kind of campers who are all kitted out with the latest gear.'
But for Carl, his ultimate escape is whitewater kayaking. He discovered it on a Doring River trip with his wife in 1994, becoming fascinated by the sheer delight and extraordinary dexterity exhibited by the river guides in their special lightweight, highly maneuverable plastic boats.
In winter, he kayaks at least one river a weekend. Characteristically, it's as much the mental application, that single-minded focus, as the physical challenge, the activity demands that appeals to him.
And when it combines experiencing nature in its most pristine form (as on a nip to the Chilean Andes to do 19 rivers in 21 days), then Carl Schultz is one happy man.
Crayfish risotto with cauliflower purée and lime and vanilla dressing recipe by Carl Schultz paired with The Eleanor Chardonnay wine....
Springbok or beef fillet with red wine jus recipe by Carl Schultz. Paired with The Stork Shiraz, Gravel Hill Shiraz or Hartenberg Estate Shi...