La Petite Ferme, the boutique hotel and wine estate perched above the Franschhoek Valley, has announced the winner of its inaugural ZA Project, an annual collaboration that pairs rising South African artistic talent with the estate’s limited-edition Pinotage.
Created in partnership with final-year illustration students from the Stellenbosch Academy of Design & Photography, the project invited participants to design the label for the 2024 vintage of La Petite Ferme’s exclusive ZA Pinotage. The brief: interpret South African heritage, terroir, and culture in a way that reflects the estate’s identity.
Thirteen students were selected for the challenge. After weeks of conceptual sketches, colour studies and refinement, five designs – by Amelie Du Toit, Hannah Bruni, Jolien Koen, Michae Diamond and Olivia Hansen – emerged as finalists.
A celebratory reveal
At a recent intimate creative reveal event in Franschhoek, illustrator Jolien Koen was announced as the project’s first winner. Her artwork, inspired by the varied beauty of South Africa’s landscapes – from the Karoo to the Garden Route – captures La Petite Ferme’s deep sense of place. Through intricately rendered birds, plants, soil and vines, Koen’s design tells a story of resilience and belonging without leaning on clichés, instead opting for an earthy authenticity that honours both land and craft.
Koen’s work will now become the official label of the ZA Pinotage 2024, with the wine set for formal release once printing and bottling are complete.
The finalists: five perspectives on South African identity
Each of the shortlisted artists offered a distinct lens on culture, unity and terroir:
- Amelie Du Toit created a subtle, elegant homage to the South African flag, weaving national pride into her design as a tribute to the land that shapes La Petite Ferme’s Pinotage.
- Hannah Bruni explored diversity through a flock of birds illustrated in the soft reds and pinks of Pinotage, blending movement and colour to evoke cultural harmony.
- Michae Diamond centred people in her piece, depicting four hands gripping a vine – each from a different direction – to form a “Z” for ZA. New leaves sprouting from the vine symbolise collective growth and resilience.
- Olivia Hansen took inspiration from the dramatic natural forces of the Western Cape. Her artwork, titled Terroir, uses fine ink work reminiscent of Franklin Booth to portray shifting clouds, rugged mountains and wind-bent trees, a nod to La Petite Ferme’s philosophy of embracing nature rather than resisting it.
A project designed to evolve
The ZA Project is set to become an annual fixture, with each vintage of the limited-edition wine featuring a new student-designed label. With only 800 bottles produced each year from old-vine Pinotage in the Piekenierskloof region, the wine is poised to become a collectible for enthusiasts and art lovers alike.
In a commitment to nurturing future talent, a percentage of proceeds from The ZA Pinotage will be donated to a public-funded art school.
“The ZA Project is about more than wine. It is a celebration of creativity, terroir and the next generation of South African artists. Each bottle tells a story that is both timeless and ever-evolving,” says La Petite Ferme winemaker, Wikus Pretorius.
About La Petite Ferme
Set on the slopes of the Oliphants Pass and Middagkrans Mountain Range, La Petite Ferme is renowned for its sweeping views, boutique hospitality and award-winning wines. The estate offers five Vineyard Suites, five Manor House Suites and five recently transformed Winery Suites, along with a celebrated restaurant known for contemporary country cuisine. Its intimate cellar, led by Pretorius, produces a range of acclaimed red, white and rosé wines.