Solms-Delta

The Delta farm sits in the Franschhoek Valley, with land first granted in 1690 to early Cape Dutch settlers. The farm passed through generations of Cape families, including (in the 18th century) members of the Solms family. Three centuries later, Professor Mark Solms (born 1961) returned to the farm of his ancestors. Mark is a world-renowned neuroscientist (Professor of Neuropsychology at the University of Cape Town and Chair of the Science of Consciousness Research Group at the International Psychoanalytical Association) and a leading global figure in the study of dreams and consciousness. In 2001 he purchased the Delta farm with a specific moral purpose. He had come to recognise that the farm's resident workers were descendants of the enslaved people who had built the original Cape wine industry, and that the historic ownership of South African farms reflected the violence of colonial and apartheid dispossession. He resolved to redress this injustice and to give the workers an equity stake in the farm they had built.

• Delta farm first granted in 1690; one of the oldest landholdings in the Franschhoek Valley
• Purchased in 2001 by Professor Mark Solms (born 1961), a descendant of the original Solms family
• Mark is a world-renowned neuroscientist: Professor of Neuropsychology at UCT and Chair of the Science of Consciousness Research Group at the International Psychoanalytical Association
• Bought the farm with an explicit moral commitment to redress the historic injustice of Cape farm ownership

To realise his vision, Mark Solms partnered with the British philanthropist Richard Astor, a member of the famous Astor family with a long-standing commitment to social investment. Astor purchased the neighbouring Lubeck farm and the two properties were brought together as a single operation. In 2007, Solms and Astor took a step that was unprecedented in mainstream Cape wine: they handed over a 33.3 percent share of the Solms-Delta business to the workers of the farm via a newly-established community trust, the Wijn de Caab Trust ('Wine of the Cape'). The trust's beneficiaries were the historically disadvantaged residents and employees of the Delta and Lubeck farms and the broader community. This made Solms-Delta a true joint venture between the Solms family, the Astor family and the Wijn de Caab Trust, with each holding an equal third of the business. The model was widely cited as a pioneering example of how South African wine farms could begin to address the apartheid legacy of ownership and labour.

• British philanthropist Richard Astor purchased the neighbouring Lubeck farm and joined Solms in a single operation
• Wijn de Caab Trust ('Wine of the Cape') established for the benefit of the historically disadvantaged residents and employees of the farm
• 2007: 33.3 percent equity ownership transferred to the Wijn de Caab Trust; a pioneering shared-equity transaction in Cape wine
• Solms-Delta (Pty) Ltd structured as a true three-way joint venture: Solms family, Astor family and Wijn de Caab Trust each held one-third equity

Alongside the shared-equity programme, Mark Solms and his team devoted significant resources to the preservation and revival of Cape coloured and Khoekhoe heritage. The estate established the Music Van de Caab Museum, an on-site facility documenting the centuries-long musical tradition of the Cape Winelands' coloured and Khoekhoe communities (a tradition closely tied to slave and farmworker culture, with deep roots in the social life of the wine estates). The museum holds historical instruments, documents and recordings, and the estate also sponsored an active musical and cultural programme on the farm. The Solms-Delta cultural work formed an integral part of the broader project of social restitution; the estate functioned not just as a producer of wine but as an active centre of heritage research and community celebration. Hiervandaan, the name of the flagship red, is itself an Afrikaans word for 'from here' that captured the estate's commitment to the local culture and land.

• Music Van de Caab Museum documents Cape coloured and Khoekhoe musical heritage rooted in the wine farms
• On-estate musical and cultural programme tied to the social-restitution mission
• Active heritage research and community celebration alongside winemaking
• Hiervandaan, the flagship red's name, is Afrikaans for 'from here'

On the wine side, Solms-Delta built its reputation around Rhone-style blends labelled Solms-Astor. Hiervandaan was the flagship red: a Rhone-influenced blend typically built on Syrah and Mourvedre with other Mediterranean varieties, made in a savoury, herbal, characteristically Cape style. Amalie was the partner white, a Rhone-style Mediterranean blend that drew on Viognier and other warm-climate whites. Other estate wines included a Rose, a sweet wine and various smaller bottlings. The wines were respected within the South African market for their style and individuality, and the estate was a regular feature of premium Cape wine tasting circuits before its financial difficulties. The Hiervandaan name has been carried through into the 2023 relaunch as a deliberate continuity with the original vision.

• Hiervandaan: flagship Solms-Astor Rhone-style red; typically Syrah and Mourvedre-led with other Mediterranean varieties
• Amalie: partner Rhone-style white blend drawing on Viognier and other warm-climate whites
• Wines respected in the South African market for their Rhone-influenced style and individuality
• Hiervandaan name carried through into the 2023 relaunch as a deliberate gesture of continuity

Despite the social and critical successes, the original Solms-Delta business ran into serious financial difficulty in the second half of the 2010s. At the end of 2018, the three trusts placed Solms-Delta under formal business rescue, a South African insolvency mechanism intended to allow restructuring rather than immediate liquidation. The business rescue process was severely complicated by the unprecedented alcohol sale bans imposed by the South African government during the 2020 and 2021 COVID-19 lockdowns, which devastated the cash flow of small and medium Cape wine producers. The business rescue strategy effectively ground operations down: no wine was produced for several vintages, the vineyards fell into neglect, and the original Solms-Delta entity was wound down. By the early 2020s, the estate's future was deeply uncertain, and many in the Cape wine community feared that one of the country's most important social experiments in wine would simply be lost.

• Original Solms-Delta entered formal business rescue at the end of 2018
• COVID-era alcohol sale bans in 2020 and 2021 severely complicated the rescue and devastated cash flow
• No wine produced for several vintages; vineyards fell into neglect
• By the early 2020s the original Solms-Delta entity was effectively wound down

On November 24, 2023, Solms-Delta was reborn as the Solms-Delta Wine Company, an entirely new venture established to continue the original vision of land restitution and community upliftment. Critically, the new company is 100 percent black-owned by the Hall family: Tommy Hall, his wife Crystal, and their son Gavin, an American family who came to South Africa expressly to participate in the renewal of the project. Tommy Hall is Director of Global Operations for Hewlett Packard Enterprise, a Fortune 500 technology company, and the family was drawn to Solms-Delta after watching a Trevor McDonald documentary on post-democracy South Africa that profiled the original estate. They could not let Mark Solms' vision fail. The Hall family currently splits their time between South Africa and the United States. The new company has committed to many of the same goals as the original: community upliftment, skills development and employment opportunities for the descendants of the original farmworkers. Plans include reopening the famous Fyndraai restaurant (long celebrated for its heritage-inspired Cape Winelands cuisine). Mark Solms remains involved as an advisor and continuing supporter of the project, ensuring continuity of vision across the transition.

• November 24, 2023: Solms-Delta Wine Company launched as an entirely new venture
• 100 percent black-owned by the Hall family: Tommy, Crystal and son Gavin Hall, originally from the United States
• Tommy Hall serves as Director of Global Operations for Hewlett Packard Enterprise; family inspired by a Trevor McDonald documentary featuring the original Solms-Delta
• Committed to continuing the original goals of land restitution, community upliftment, skills development and employment

The first releases under the new Solms-Delta Wine Company carry forward the names that defined the original project. The Hiervandaan 2023 red and Amalie 2023 white blend launched together as the inaugural pair, both made in a more contemporary Rhone-influenced style with a clear emphasis on freshness, structure and drinkability. Cape winemaker Rene Haasbroek has been central to the technical re-establishment of the cellar, with industry observers (including Tim James of WineMag) noting his 'deft touch' in the relaunch wines: youthful, vibrant, fresh and direct, but with structure that suggests these are not just commodity releases. The relaunched wines have been broadly welcomed in the Cape wine community as a genuine continuation of the original project, and the Solms-Delta Wine Company's stated aim is to become a sustainable, internationally credible operation that proves the long-term viability of community-anchored Cape wine. Visitor facilities are being rebuilt and the famous Fyndraai restaurant is part of the planned reopening programme.

• Hiervandaan 2023 red and Amalie 2023 white blend launched as the inaugural pair under the new venture
• Winemaker Rene Haasbroek led the technical re-establishment of the cellar; observers noted his 'deft touch' in the youthful, fresh, structured relaunch wines
• Style: more contemporary Rhone-influenced; emphasis on freshness, structure and drinkability
• Visitor facilities being rebuilt; the famous Fyndraai restaurant (heritage-inspired Cape Winelands cuisine) part of the planned reopening programme