The Story of Creation

The Story of Creation
It was in 2002 that the Swiss-born winemaker Jean-Claude Martin and his South African wife, Carolyn née Finlayson, first discovered their little piece of paradise on the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge of South Africa’s acclaimed Walker Bay Wine Region. Establishing a winery in a remote corner where there were neither vineyards nor infrastructure presented many challenges. Yet inspiration, innovation and sheer determination won the day. Both Jean-Claude and Carolyn come from wine pioneering families spanning three generations and the vast potential of the exceptional terroir was motivation enough.
At Creation a diverse blend of geology, soils, altitude, aspect and climate gives rise to the production of an exciting variety of terroir-reflective wines. The estate’s key focus is Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. There are no less than four Chardonnays and four Pinot Noirs in the Creation portfolio, offering consumers a choice of site-specific wines grown in virus-free vineyards and made with little intervention.
The estate is situated at the foot of the highest peak of Babylonstoren Mountain. Here 450-million-year-old Bokkeveld shale and drained clay-loam soils combined with plentiful sunshine and cool night temperatures, create excellent winegrowing conditions. In the cellar, Jean-Claude and his team adhere to a philosophy of ‘expressing the beauty of Nature’.
Today, two decades after its establishment, Creation enjoys the distinction of being Number 4 on the 2023 World’s Best Vineyards’ list, and Number 1 in Africa. The team was also honoured to have come up tops in two categories at the 2024 Great Wine Capitals (GWC) Regional Best of Wine Tourism Awards: Wine Tourism Services and Art and Culture.
Commenting on these prestigious accolades, Creative Director Carolyn Martin said: “We are delighted as they speak of our dedication to sharing our unique sense of place with our visitors by delivering an innovative, sustainable, educative and above all, welcoming tourism experience.”