Carl Schultz is a team player. Though you’d never hear it from him, he chose to share his prize money with his vineyard and cellar team after winning the 2005 Diners Club Winemaker of the Year with his Hartenberg Merlot 2004: a small but telling gesture.
Vintage 26
It could be a result of being one of five brothers, of whom only one is not involved in the wine industry: Heinrich, a biochemist. There’s Rudi and Werner (working together at Thelema as winemaker and vineyard manager respectively) and Gunter (winemaker and viticulturist at Kleinood, home of Tamboerskloof Wines).
Carl’s father was a biology teacher with a deep love of botany and all forms of natural life, which Carl believes must have influenced his sons. The eldest of the sons, Carl matriculated at 'Hotties' [Hottentots Holland High School] in Somerset West, where his father was the founding headmaster of Beaumont Primary School after becoming deputy head of SACS in Cape Town.
And when he enrolled at Elsenburg Agricultural College, where the three options were general agriculture, livestock, and fruit and vineyard, he chose the latter, with the idea of going into deciduous fruit farming.
Instead, he fell in thrall to the vine. 'You have this amazing plant that has two life cycles: first, it produces the grape that comes in all its infinite varietal permutations, responding differently to different terroirs. Then you get to transform the grape into wine, unlocking all these flavours. No wonder wine has been one of the three natural products to remain with us since biblical times, alongside olive oil and honey. They share such extraordinary complexity.'
Jobs for winemakers were limited in the 1980s, given the lack of growth due to international economic sanctions. 'Only four of the 10 of us who graduated from Elsenburg that year found a winemaking post.' This is why Carl was delighted to head out to Calitzdorp co-operative winery in the Little Karoo.
'I helped make all types and styles of wine and got to know the growers too. Great characters.' He also enjoyed the Karoo's vast open spaces. 'I've always been a nature lover. I never wanted to sit behind a desk: I could easily have been a nature conservationist or forester.'
Wife Carin is similarly inclined, having grown up on a farm near Richmond in the Karoo. 'It's all big-sky country,' says Carl. 'I could happily have stayed. But people warned me that once I went 'annerkant die berg' [over the mountain] I might never find my way back to the industrial hub.'
So when a position opened up at Simonsig in Stellenbosch, he grabbed it and became part of the Simonsig team for four vintages, working with Johan Malan, to whom patriarch and pioneer Frans Malan was handing over the winemaking reins.
The size and scope of Simonsig's quality wine production, which has traditionally made it a nursery for many talented young winemakers, would have easily accommodated Carl, so he was not looking to move on in a hurry. He took the opportunity to complete a management development program at Stellenbosch University's School of Business. 'The Malans have a serious work ethic.'
However, student winemaker Kevin Grant, who'd joined the Simonsig cellar team and became a good friend, heard that Hartenberg was looking for a vintner. 'I thought they would want someone older and far more experienced to oversee what amounted to a complete rejuvenation of this historic wine farm. Kevin cheekily sent in my CV without me knowing. Ken Mackenzie gave me a call, we met and he offered me the position.'
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...