But perhaps the greatest high in 2009 for Frans and Lacea was the birth of their long-awaited twin daughters. Mariella and Elizabeth are regarded as nothing short of little miracles by the doting couple and they're a testament to their parents' courage, resilience, and sheer determination.
Like her husband, Lacea hails from the Northern Cape, a farmer's daughter from Olifantshoek. They breed 'em tough up there. 'I’m what you might call a "mature" mother.
And the energy it takes! Two of them! But wow, they're amazing...' Whenever needed, 'Ouma Marie' [Lacea's mother] is there to support and help with the kids.
Rapid-fire wine talk from Frans Smith is freely and frequently interspersed with details on 'how we eat in the Kalahari'. The Smits' elegant, open-plan double-story home in De Wijnlanden security complex, set among the vineyards down the road from Spier, is set for formal entertainment.
But it easily becomes a space devoted to the drinking of wine and sampling of 'Kalahari' delicacies fresh off the braai by friends and family, children and dogs.
One fearsome-looking, lumbering Boerboel and a cheeky Jack Russell have replaced the dearly beloved, departed Stoffel, Frans's grape-munching, wine-slurping Staffordshire bull terrier. He grins down from a photograph on the stairwell leading down to his master's brick-walled, dimly lit underground home cellar.
Here, at a sturdy table surrounded by a family heirloom collection of carved-wood chairs and racks laden with wines collected swapped and bought over the years, is where Frans and Lacea enjoy festive meals with friends, colleagues, overseas agents, and clients during the Cape's cold, wet winters.
It is but the work of an instant to reach over and pull out something special to share: recently this included one of just two of his remaining bottles of a Spier Pinotage 1973. 'C’mon let me open it! Sjoe, taste that; it's beautiful, still alive!' The busy wine man becomes like a naughty boy in a toy shop.
But back to his beloved Kalahari: 'A real Kalahari braai has at least five courses... and it's all meat. First, you do the wors [sausage] as an appetiser, then come the skilpadjies [lamb's liver wrapped in caul fat] as a starter, followed by the ribbetjie [ribs] as a snack while you wait for the main courses, which are usually chops and sosaties [curried kebabs].'
Lacea continues: 'That's what the men eat! But the women come up with any and every version of a few basic, hardy vegetables: potato, soetpatat or geelpatat [sweet potato], pumpkin and butternut, and mielies [sweet corn].
Oh, and beetroot. They're about the only things that can be grown there that don't require a lot of water. Forget about fresh, dainty little salad things like lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes...'
And, whereas some winemakers are happy to use old vine stock for braai wood, Frans swears by sekelhout (sicklewood), a hard-core wood from Namibia.
He tries to get to the Kalahari two or three times a year. His parents are still in Kakamas and Lacea's family farm is still there (although her parents have moved on). He's a keen hunter, but it's more than that. As much as he loves his life in the Winelands, he says he will always return to visit his roots in the Northern Cape. 'It's part of my soul.'
Lamb rib rack with lemon, rosemary and coriander rub recipe by Frans Smit served with caramelised boerpampoen paired with CWG Auction Reserv...
Marinated Gemsbok skewers recipe by Frans Smit served with Serve with Kalahari suikermielietert paired with Spier 21 Gables Pinotage....