SALT CELLAR | THE URBAN WINERY

The most unique thing about Salt Cellar is its unusual location: tucked away in the industrial area of Salt River, Cape Town. It’s here that Tim Martin purchased an old warehouse in early 2013 to repurpose into a functioning winery. Together with Bryan MacRobert, who made wine at Sadie Family Wines for many years, he is under way with their second harvest in the cellar. MacRobert has produced his Tobias and Abbotsdale labels for several vintages and Tim Martin Wines, or TMW, will this year release two Chenin Blancs and a straight Mourvedre.

Martin is also harvesting Cinsault and an old Tinta Barocca vineyard in Stellenbosch this year, and is working on a Pinotage with MacRobert.  Martin’s path to winemaker was unorthodox. During several years in London’s financial sector he discovered a love for fine wine, particularly Burgundy. Rather than just enjoy the drink, he got involved, working several harvests there, most notably at Domaine de Montille. The bug bit and after brief consideration to settle there he decided instead to return to SA.

The concept of a winery in the city made perfect  sense to him, being based in Cape Town and not wanting to live on a farm or in a rural town. With many top winemakers eschewing the estate model of growing and 
producing, preferring to work with the best grapes they can source across the Cape, a winery based in Cape Town seems more practical than it ever has.

Not that it doesn’t have some drawbacks: as we walk around we can’t escape the din from a joinery business upstairs. Both winemakers work with leased vineyards in 
various areas of the Cape, and it’s not a surprise that the Swartland features strongly, with MacRobert’s background and the region’s popularity. Both also strive to make focused wines, leaner in style rather than overly big and voluptuous.

Their efforts are rewarded: MacRobert’s Tobias wines sell out fast and Martin’s limited TMW production is likely to follow suit. Martin’s vision is for the cellar to evolve so the tasting room is a showcase for the wines and the space is used to host wine and food evenings. Concrete floors, wooden tables with benches and hanging pendant bulbs create a clean and modern feel, decidedly more city than country.  

Usually it would be perfectly suited to long lunches or private wine evenings, but it’s harvest time and the day we visit, the tables are mostly packed away to make space for picking crates, cartons of bottles and other objects. Just a small amount of space remains for a small but enthusiastic tasting under way among the cellar team.

“We decided this harvest that we’re going to sit down and enjoy a proper lunch, with some good wines every day,” says Martin as MacRobert opens a bottle wrapped in brown paper for the table to taste blind. Keeping the  balance of work and enjoyment amid the general chaos  of harvest time is crucial but it seems Salt Cellar has found the right mix.

tmwines.co.za and bryanmacrobertwines.com