Tempel Wines

Set in a wonderfully private location between the winelands towns of Paarl and Wellington, Tempel is the creation and passion project of Tom and Tatjana, one Belgian, one Latvian who met in Dubai and always wanted the rural life (but not, Tom swears blind, a wine estate!).

Tom was always into making alcohol (but more as a sideline than a main event), having started and sold a gin distillery back in Belgium. Here, the wines are front and centre, all organic, mostly grown on the property but also on other plots in the area which Tom selects year by year depending on what wine he’s looking to make. Tempel does all its own harvesting and offers a range of six superb blended wines, all wonderfully named in Afrikaans. The wine is exported to nineteen countries globally.

Enter Tatjana, who has turned her real estate roots into fruit by making stunning developments on the farm. The centre piece is the clever way they manage water: there’s a natural spring on the farm which is used to irrigate the vegetables and fruit, a borehole to supply drinking water and then the old swimming pool was covered over and turned into an irrigation tank for the vines. The new pool is an enormous infinity pool with clever steps and shelves to sit yourself on whilst sipping (obviously) some Tempel wines and the gardens around have multi layered trim lawns and several pretty places for shade and shelter whilst still having lovely views of the Drakenstein mountains.

Tatjana and Tom live on site, right in the middle of the farm and opposite the wine cellar (Tom doesn’t like to be a long way away from his babies). You as a guest can choose from the smaller Stable Rooms (of which there are two) at 10sqm each with Queen beds and air conditioning and shower rooms. These two rooms share a private outside area which includes a sleek hardwood deck, a plunge pool, covered stoep and large braai area with a dining table. Features we particularly enjoyed are the high quality shutters, bedside tables and desk chair made out of tree trunk segments and the views over the valley, even from your bed. These two rooms are perfect if you’re travelling as a group of three or four as they are very private from the rest of the farm.

A larger room, a little less private, is the Pool Room which looks over the farm’s main pool area (but is sufficiently distant from it to be private) and the valley beyond. It has a small terrace that can fit two arm chairs (but not loungers), lovely high ceilings and is about 20sqm in size.

The last room is the Winery Room which is the most private of all and is located behind the wine storage and making area. It has little outside space but is right in the vineyards. Views aren’t quite as impressive as the other rooms but it has space for a settee (in the bedroom area), high ceilings and a full bathroom. It’s around 40sqm in size and a great choice if you’re travelling with a child.

One of the most salient features is the art work: Tom’s father was a GP by profession by a wine connoisseur and artist by passion. You’ll find his works spread all over the farm’s rooms and unlike most cases of family-generated art, which have more importance to the family than a discerning eye, these are without exception arresting and intriguing. Continuing that tradition, both Tom and Tatjana love supporting artists and commissioned street artists Falco and Rasilaas to paint the inside of their winery. The results are stunning, dragging the urban art (on a massive scale) into the world of wine. So creative and bold!

Tempel offers parking for about four medium sized cars. Larger vehicles can only be accommodated away from the buildings.

Sustainability: the farm’s wines are all organic, all the food served at the farm comes from local farm stalls or neighbours with only very occasional inclusions from supermarkets. The farm isn’t off grid for power in the winter but summers it is. All rooms are heated and cooled with inverter aircons.

Mobility: Winery and Stable rooms are relatively easy to access with few or no steps. It’s five steps to get in the Pool Cottage. The closest one to the parking area is Stable 2.

Children: the pools (both the one at Stable and the main one) are unfenced. There is a large and lush meadow for children to play in by the vegetables but again also a farm dam with no fencing. There is no special provision for children but the farm’s scale means that older children cannot venture too far but have plenty of space to roam.