Paul and Shirley Martens in South Africa
south africa: a love story
In 1996, Winnipeggers Paul and Shirley Martens took a fateful trip to South Africa to attend a photography workshop with fellow Canadian photographer, Freeman Patterson. It wound up being much more than a oneweek seminar. Paul and Shirley fell in love with the people, the diverse landscapes, the food, and, notably, the wine. They were so drawn to the food and wine culture, in fact, that they decided that every Winnipegger should share their passion, and they started the process of bringing South African wines home to their Winnipeg friends.
Six years later, Paul and Shirley have a winter home in Hermanus, South Africa, about 1.5 hours from Cape Town. Chosen for its location on the Atlantic coast between Grotto Beach and the Fernkloof Nature Reserve, it is a perfect home base for their forays into South Africa’ s wine regions, where they research the best wines to bring back to Canada with their company, Blend Imports. www. banvilleandjones. com 59