Berene Sauls grew up in a small village called Tesselaarsdal situated 24 km North East of the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, Hermanus in the Overberg region. Tesselaarsdal has a unique history where East India Company settler, Johannes Tesselaar, left his land to his freed slaves to farm upon his death in 1810.
After completing school Berene initially joined Hamilton Russell Vineyards in February 2001 as an au pair at the age of 19. Later she soon moved to an administrative position and quickly got involved in the much more complicated administration linked to wine exports, labeling as well as warehousing of the estate’s wines.
Experiencing so many aspects of the business already her curiosity turned towards the delicate process from grape to bottle, the very layered wine culture and living the excitement of each harvest.