Storm Wines
ストーム・ワインズ
The only house farming Pinot Noir across all three Hemel-en-Aarde wards
About Storm Wines
Storm Wines was founded in 2011 by Hannes Storm, who spent more than a decade as winemaker at neighboring Hamilton Russell Vineyards before starting his own label with his wife Nathalia. The winery released its debut 2012 vintage in 2014 and has since become the only Hemel-en-Aarde producer to farm Pinot Noir across all three of the valley's wards: Vrede, from a steep, low-vigour, Bokkeveld-shale slope in the original Hemel-en-Aarde Valley; Ignis, an organically farmed, decomposed-granite site in the Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley (its Latin name, meaning "fire", nods to the soil's igneous origin); and Ridge, from stony, clay-rich shale soils at roughly 320m elevation on the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, which also yields a Chardonnay alongside the Vrede bottling. Hannes Storm works with minimal intervention in the cellar, using indigenous yeasts, gentle extraction and a deliberately restrained percentage of whole-bunch fermentation (kept below around 15% so the fruit does not mask each site's terroir), and looks to Old World Burgundy for stylistic reference. The wines are small-production and consistently rated among South Africa's finest, typically scoring in the 93-96 point range for their purity, floral lift and ageing potential.
Who Is This For?
For drinkers who want site-transparent, minimal-intervention Pinot Noir with Old World restraint and serious ageing potential.
Wines of Storm Wines
No cuvées registered yet.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Who founded Storm Wines and when?
- Hannes Storm founded Storm Wines in 2011 with his wife Nathalia, after more than a decade as winemaker at Hamilton Russell Vineyards in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley. The debut 2012 vintage was released in 2014.
- What is Storm Wines' winemaking philosophy?
- Storm Wines follows a minimal-intervention, non-interventionist approach: indigenous yeast fermentation, gentle handling and a restrained percentage of whole-bunch inclusion, all aimed at letting each vineyard's terroir speak clearly rather than shaping the wine through cellar technique.
- What makes Storm Wines unique within Hemel-en-Aarde?
- It is the only producer sourcing Pinot Noir from all three Hemel-en-Aarde wards in the same range: Vrede (Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, Bokkeveld shale), Ignis (Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, decomposed granite, organically farmed) and Ridge (Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, shale at ~320m elevation).
- Does Storm Wines make Chardonnay as well as Pinot Noir?
- Yes. Alongside its Pinot Noir range, Storm Wines produces Vrede Chardonnay and Ridge Chardonnay from the same shale-soil sites in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley and Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge.
- Do Storm Wines pair well with Japanese cuisine?
- Their elegant structure and bright acidity suit delicate Japanese dishes well, including grilled salmon, sesame-dressed mushrooms, and lightly seasoned sashimi.