Yes, Lovely Creatures is a nod to the eponymous album by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, but it is also an homage to the often-overlooked critters that make up the ecosystem of a vineyard. From regal praying mantises to butterflies and bees, these animals help to bring a distinctive balance to their liana-speckled habitats.

Like these little creatures, these wines are unassuming and, yet, so lovely. They are made by Stephanie Wiid of Thistle & Weed, and though these are school night wines, they are still marked by her trademark intensity and elegant finish. The line is currently made up of three single-variety wines: Chardonnay, Pinotage (joining in 2024), and Cabernet Sauvignon, which all come from Stellenbosch but are labelled as ‘Western Cape’ for international recognizability. The clay-driven granitic soils of the sites at the base of the Simonsberg Mountain provide texture and power to the wines, and aging in stainless-steel (Chardonnay and Pinotage) and used oak (Cab and small portion of Pinotage) allow for varietal typicity to shine. Drinkability is the over-arching motif.

After their US market launch in 2021, these wines generated lots of chatter thanks to their approachability and reasonable price point. Lovely Creatures is a South African benchmark for responsibly crafted, affordable wines with a clear terroir link.