ORGANIC FARMING
A good life
L
iving off the land requires more
than a dream; it demands
dedication, drive and a hefty
dose of humility. When Josef Lazarus
and Candice Stephanou bought an
8,4-hectare farm in Wellington in 2002,
it was operating as a wholesale plant
nursery. With just one small existing
vineyard of Chenin Blanc, they worked
in accordance with nature to transform
the landscape into a platform for
realising the dream of living a selfsustainable lifestyle. Selling off the
plants contributed to the cost of their
initial investment. Their organic wine
farm, with 5,5 hectares under vine, may
be one of the smallest in the country,
but it has won many gold and silver
medals at local and international wine
shows. The farm meets international
organic standards in both vineyards and
the cellar, and has been certified as an
organic producer with (Société Générale
de Surveillance) SGS.
Josef happily swapped the field
of higher education development for
these green pastures, and still consults
and sits on the board of the Hospice
Palliative Care Association of South
Africa (HPCA). Candice, an interior
designer, raises their children Hannah
112 FOOD & HOME ENTERTAINING
AUGUST 2012
and Noah, and manages the vegetable
garden and their popular Open Days.
These are hosted so the public can, for
a day at least, share the pleasures of
meeting the cow that produces the milk
that produces the cheese… and the
meat… on the banks of their dam. On
arrival, platters of homemade cheeses,
freshly baked cheese straws, tapenade
from their olives, preserves (Candice
concocts a truly remarkable spicy carrot
chutney), roasted peppers and homebaked breads are savoured with one of
their award-winning wines.
A quick meeting is allowed with
Lambert the ram and his mate
Rosemary (their offspring is called
Shorn) and the cows (one named
Stretch, the product of an escape to
meet the neighbour’s Limousin bull)
before guests happily meander past
geese and ducks to the vineyards. Josef
introduces each cultivar (Chardonnay,
Chenin Blanc, Viognier, Mourvèdre
and Syrah) at their point of provenance
while we swirl and taste in the sunshine.
Wine glass in hand, we amble past the
olive grove, biodiversity zones (created
to encourage plant diversity and to
attract natural predators to combat
pests and diseases in the vineyards),
Self-sustainable living is a
reality at Lazanou Organic
Vineyards in Wellington
By JENNY HANDLEY
Photographs by BRUCE TUCK
beehives and the fruit orchard before
sipping yet another award-winning
wine. We head back to the banks of the
dam via the bird sanctuary to spend an
unforgettable afternoon unwinding with
Candice’s culinary talents and Lazanou
wines. Almost all of the produce on the
menu originates from the farm or their
neighbours. Meat is bought in as guests
sometimes struggle with meeting the
cows and sheep and then consuming
their cousins.
Guests fire questions about organic
farming to Josef, who answers honestly
and with humour. No pesticides,
herbicides or chemical fertilisers are
used. Snails? “The most natural way of
controlling snails is to keep the ducks
hungry for a few days, and then let them
loose in the vineyards. They walk neatly in
a line snacking on the snails.” Originally all
animals were named but, as some move
from pasture to freezer, the family try to
distance themselves from the inevitable.
After slaughter Josef is unable to eat meat
for a few weeks, but when he does it is
with a heightened sense of reverence and
respect for both the food and its origin.
Their philosophy to farming is natural
and uncontrived. Their beehives produce
30 litres of honey twice a year. When
plentiful, excess olives are used to make
their own olive oil. Five bags of wool
shorn from their sheep await spinning
so that Candice’s mom can knit jerseys
for the children. Duck and chicken eggs
provide protein in their daily diet. No milk
is wasted – the farm workers enjoy the
spoils of living in nature too. Soils are
improved by mulching and the use of
compost produced on the farm. Waste
not, want not.
Corks are an expensive part of the
bottling process. “Expensive yes, but if
everyone stops using corks then cork
trees will no longer be planted and the
endangered species in the cork forests
will become extinct,” says Josef.
When asked how many bottles of
Lazanou wine need to be produced to
break even, his response is a huge smile.
“I don’t want to do those sums. We peg
our prices to be palatable to the market
by benchmarking with other similar wine
producers. Yes, consumers will pay a
premium for an organic product, but the
pricing needs to be appropriate. What
price can you put on this lifestyle, living
off and giving back to the land?
Call 083 265 6341 or visit
www.lazanou.co.za.
Above right: Josef Lazarus
Josef’s wife, Candice Stephanou, manages the
veggie garden with their children, Hannah and Noah