# Baby Bandito Stay Brave (2025)

- **Producer:** Testalonga
- **Colour:** orange
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Chenin Blanc
- **Region:** Western Cape, South Africa
- **Style:** Natural
- **Alcohol:** 11.5%
- **Average price:** €22
- **Vegan:** Yes
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 10–12 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** apple, orange, ginger, peach, pear, bread, biscuit

## About this wine

Testalonga was founded by Craig and Carla Hawkins in 2008 in the Swartland region of South Africa. Known as pioneers of the South African natural wine movement, they focus on organic and biodynamic viticulture with minimal intervention. The Baby Bandito series is their approachable, entry-level range designed to offer high-quality, fresh wines that can be enjoyed in their youth. The name Stay Brave is a phrase of encouragement, reflecting the childlike optimism depicted on the label, which features a photograph taken in Cambodia by Craig's brother. The grapes for this wine come from a single 1.5-hectare block of un-trellised bush vines planted in 1981 on the decomposed granite soils of the Paardeberg mountain. This block was abandoned in 2014 and lovingly revived by Craig and Carla in collaboration with the local farmer.

## Interesting facts

- The vines used for this wine were planted in 1981, abandoned in 2014, and successfully revived by Testalonga.
- The name 'Stay Brave' is a phrase used to encourage a child, matching the street-art style label photo from Cambodia.
- For the 2025 vintage, Testalonga aged the wine entirely in fiberglass tanks, completely avoiding any oak influence.

## Food pairing

The skin-contact maceration gives this orange wine a light phenolic grip and savory complexity that stands up beautifully to spiced, aromatic, and slightly oily dishes. Its high natural acidity cuts through rich fats, while the dry, mineral profile complements the sweet-and-sour elements of Southeast Asian and Mexican street food without clashing.

## Wine making process

The grapes are hand-harvested in early-to-mid January. In the cellar, the fruit is 100% de-stemmed and fermented on the skins for 14 days in open fermenters. Fermentation occurs spontaneously using only native, ambient yeasts without any commercial additions, enzymes, or acid adjustments. The wine undergoes 100% natural malolactic fermentation. For the 2025 vintage, maturation was completed entirely in inert fiberglass tanks for approximately 11 months on the gross lees, with no oak aging utilized to preserve the pure fruit and mineral character. The wine is bottled unfined with a gentle, single clarifying filtration and minimal sulfur added shortly before bottling.