The names of Teddy Hall’s wines evoke some very colourful characters from the seventeenth- and early eighteenth-century Cape Dutch colony. 'They were all anti-heroes; I identify with that.'
Vintage 14
Hercùles van Loon (his Cabernet Sauvignon) was an apparently henpecked pastor and winegrower in Stellenbosch who may have died by his own hand.
Dr. Jan Cats (his Chenin Blanc Reserve) was a medical practitioner whose practice in preserved Dorp Street was convenient, if discouragingly, directly opposite the mortuary.
Sybrand Mankadan (his Chenin Blanc) was a theologian, comforter of the sick, and teacher whose love of women and wine caused some concentration among strait-laced locals.
Then there is Jan Blanx (his Super White Cuveé blend), an insubordinate soldier under Jan van Riebeeck, the first commander of the Dutch settlement at the Cape.
Blanx's escapades and misadventures regularly had him lashed and once even keelhauled. And finally, Hendrik Biebouw (his Auction Reserve Chenin Blanc), who, when arrested for drunk and disorderly behaviour and castigated the Stellenbosch landdrost, a German immigrant, defiantly yelled: 'Ik ben een Afrikaander!' [I am an Afrikaner or African!)
Teddy has as much fun choosing and researching the names for his labels as he does sourcing the grapes for his Teddy Hall 'fine wine personified'.
He is focused on Stellenbosch, leasing vineyards from local growers and renting cellar space to make his wines. And he's embraced the heart of this historic university Winelands town in all ways: the home is a chic, cosy apartment just off Dorp Street.
'I originally wanted to call my wines Dorp Street, but when researching further I came upon the history of all these fascinating people associated with the historic hub of this beautiful Winelands town.'
Like many of them, Teddy is a bit of an adventurer: his wine consulting has taken him to such far-flung places as Israel where, in 2007, he made wine at filmmaker Ze'ev Dunie's fledgling Sea Horse Winery.
Mixed herb, pecorino cheese, and crouton salad with poached egg recipe by Teddy Hall....
Tagliatelle with roasted tomato and anchovy recipe by Teddy Hall paired with Teddy Hall Hercules van Loon Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve wine....