South Africa, Stellenbosch, Summer 2006 / 2007; In a time of seafaring and spice, pirates played in Table Bay...If you'll believe it! A certain Long Ben presented us with abundant inspiration in the creation of the Cocoa Hill wines, two playful and fun-filled new additions to Stellenbosch producer Dornier Wines' acclaimed range. The Pirate The Cape at the time of its Dutch occupation was a fascinating place. The era evokes images of a wild and uncharted continent; mysterious indigenous peoples; ivory sails fluttering above burly wooden ships; and the rich, exotic colours and textures of the treasures of the East - demand for the latter in the West, the very reason for the Cape of Good Hope's existence. This was the world of Long Ben and his gang of erstwhile brutes. Long Ben was a feared English pirate who pillaged ships along the Spice Route and around the Cape at the time of its Dutch occupation, archives dating from the seventeenth century indicate. Following a long line of offences, he eventually had to flee the authorities or face prosecution and ingeniously assumed a new identity under the guise of winegrowing in the Stellenbosch region. Long Ben's grapes grew in deep, dark soils on a hilltop in the Blaauwklippen area - home to Dornier Wines today - which he named Cocoa Hill and was seen peering out to the seas from often& longing for the ocean and his old ways, it is said.The Dornier Wine Collection
