Atlas Swift Premium Wines

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Looking for a unique and unforgettable experience? Look no further than a visit to our winery for a tasting! Discover the flavors and aromas of our award-winning wines, crafted from the finest grapes and aged to perfection. Whether you're a wine connoisseur or simply enjoy a good glass from time to time, our tasting room offers something for everyone.

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SHARED DREAMS FORGED BY DIVERSITY

“Our motto in life is simple – dream big, work hard and persevere with the tenacious spirit of a warrior to make those dreams a reality. We have always dreamed of having our destiny in our own hands, and to raise our two children in an environment filled with the love for what we do – to produce outstanding wines from unique terroirs.

We believe that we are firmly in charge of that destiny, and that the Atlas Swift range of wines is a culmination of hard work, perseverance and the multiplicity of distinctive origins, cultures, memories and energy.” - Martin and Welma Smith – Proprietors.

Vision & Mission

To protect the unique characteristics of each parcel of land where our vines grow.

To bring the energy of our different terroirs to life in each glass.

Introduction

Martin and Welma were born and raised in two different towns in the Boland, well known for its vast areas planted under vines. Being exposed to vineyards from a young age must have influenced their minds in a very subconscious and subtle way, as both ended up studying agriculture.

Martin Smith is his family’s third-generation winemaker. After completing his studies at the Elsenburg Agricultural College outside Stellenbosch, he moved abroad and worked in California for ten years, honing his skills in the production of Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. Upon his return, he was appointed as the winemaker for one of South Africa’s biggest luxury wine brands, Vilafonté, before starting Paserene Wines in Franschhoek where he is still the co-owner and winemaker.

His wife Welma’s studies were followed by a trip to another “holy grail” of winemaking, France, where she pursued her dreams of becoming a sommelier at the World Sommelier Academy of Bordeaux. Forever the student of wine, she is also currently enrolled for her WSET Diploma.

Their mutual love for Chardonnay and Bordeaux-type red varieties was one of the main catalysts that eventually brought them together, as both varieties complement the various paths, work experiences and education they have chosen.

They are the custodians and first-generation winemakers of Atlas Swift, and with that comes an immense responsibility that they carry on their shoulders, just like Atlas, the Titan of old.

The Smiths gracefully accept this responsibility, and together with their love for South African soil, they are determined and committed to producing wines of the highest caliber.”

Tasting Room at the Winery

Provenance is the key to the multisensory experience of wine, and at Atlas Swift we aim to make this palpable with a horizontal tasting of four Chardonnays from different regions. Each wine is a spiritual ode to Martin and Welma Smith's connection to the land and the fruit it produces, individual expressions of a particular place that celebrates the diversity of the South African wine realm.

The fruit hails from two cooler and two warmer wine regions and embodies the character of the land in the warrior woman depicted on the label. Each Warrior stands guard to protect this place and let it prosper. While you drink the wine, allow yourself to revel in the beauty of synaesthesia, connecting to each wine through personal reference captured in your sense of taste, colour, smell, texture, shape, and sound. Each wine is made the same way, yet a moment of awe comes to pass when one can see the distinct land it comes from and how it becomes tangible in the glass of wine.

Wine is a gift from mother earth, and as the warrior women who reign over their territories, guarding its sanctity and truth, they invite every person to immerse in their own experience thereof.