At the opening of an exhibition of contemporary art from the Hess Collection - one of the largest privately owned art collections in the world - at Glen Carlou outside Paarl, South Africa, this week, new standards in wine tourism were set., reports www.wine.co.za.

The Swiss-based Hess dynasty was originally built on business interests in mineral water and beer, but after visiting Napa in the late 1970s in pursuit of a second water spring, founder Donald Hess changed direction and now owns some of the finest New World wineries on four continents.

The Hess Collection Winery in Napa produces 6 million bottles every year. The group invested in Glen Carlou in 1996 and acquired the winery in 2003. David Finlayson, son of veteran winemaker Walter Finalyson, founder of Glen Carlou, is winemaker and managing director.

Following the South African acquisition, investments were also made in Australia - the Barossa icon, Peter Lehmann Wines - and Argentina's oldest winery and the world's highest vineyard at that - Bodega Colomé in the Calchquies Valley in the north-west of the country, boasting 150-year-old vines and biodynamic practices throughout its 75 hectares.

Glen Carlou's gallery of 500m² has been custom-designed by Stellenbosch architect Simon Beerstecher and this opening exhibition consists of some 30 works by acclaimed artists, South African-born Deryck Healey and the Scotsman Andy Goldsworthy.

These were flown from the Hess Art Collection headquarters in Berne , Switzerland . The complete Hess Collection has more that 1 000 paintings, sculptures and multi-media installations by some 165 artists.

Among these artists are renowned names like Franz Gertsch, Nakis Panayotidis, Francis Bacon, Gerhard Richter, Markus Raetz, Per Kirkeby, George Baselitz, Frank Stella, Robert Motherwell and many more, as well as young and emerging artists, like Lynn Hershman.

"A working winery with a tasting facility offering wines from around the world as well as an international art collection is going to give the South African wine industry a new dimension," comments David Finlayson.

Asked if the Hess Group considered itself bold when first investing in South Africa back in 1996, CEO Max Lienhard said it was "always very positive" about the country and its potential. "South Africans found a way through their problems and they did it very well. It is a fantastic country and to us very attractive from a business, wine and tourism perspective," he said.

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