TASTE
Oneiric Wine Estate perches on a ridge in the Elgin Valley. Views stretch down either side across vineyards and orchards to where the Kogelberg mountains rise from close to the shores of the Cape Peninsula. This higher altitude is one of the special ingredients that make Elgin wines so spectacular, the ‘koffieklip’ (coffee stone) soil another. Then there is the enthusiasm and passion that both the winemakers and growers bestow on the grapes and their craft, evident in the wine. The Pascall family embody this sentiment and apply it to their piece of the valley, already blessed with it’s lofty position. Matt and Jen came to Cape Town looking for a change in lifestyle after many years in Johannesburg. They looked to the wine country of the Cape and chose this piece of the Elgin Valley, which spoke to them with it’s potential for the wine and life it could offer - Oneiric comes from the Greek word Oneiros, meaning ‘What dreams are made of’.
ing - travelling internationally to various shows, managing the factory near Johannesburg, and keeping it all under control from a room on the wine estate. Matt works in the copper mining industry and travels frequently between the farm and Zambia - tall, blue-eyed and as charming as his wife, he apparently once unknowingly proposed in (very bad) French to a lovely waitress - believing he was stating his preference for salmon, he delivered ‘I love you like a salmon, are you on the menu?’ which we’re told she took very well, considering. They’ve built a winery and tasting room to complement their wine offering and all three children have been blessed by inheriting their tall genes and creative energy.
Their elder daughter, Shan, given the opportunity eighteen months ago to get Oneiric out of the barrel barn and into the market, jumped in with both feet, if it involves Oneiric, it involves Shan - she is behind the licensing, operations, wine sales and marketing. Father and daughter developed the Jen Pascall is world-renowned for her button-mak- wine estate’s Copper-inspired metallic branding www.flatwhiteconcepts.com | Issue 8