Prior to his career as a winemaker, following a period as a
surfer, Eben Sadie traveled and worked in several of the world's wine regions, including
Germany,
Austria,
Italy,
Oregon and
Burgundy. eventually becoming the chief winemaker and a resource Back described as "national asset for the South African wine industry". The solo venture The Sadie Family was founded in 1999. The initial vintage of Columella in 2000 began on an exceptionally small scale, with a production of 17 barrels, approximately 5000 bottles. The initial vintage of the Palladius was in 2002 with a production of seven barrels, just under 2000 bottles. The Sadie Family has enjoyed success beyond any other modern South African wine producer as Columella is the most highly rated South African wine, and the only to achieve a 95-point rating by US wine magazine
Wine Spectator. In defense of Columella's high retail price per bottle, Sadie states the wine is unusually costly to make.
Sequillo Cellars Since 2003, the label Sequillo Cellars was started by Eben Sadie in partnership with Cornel Spies, to some degree considered The Sadie Family's more affordable
second wines. Eben Sadie stopped producing this wine in 2014. He is now focusing on The Sadie Family Wines exclusively.
Terroir al Límit Eben Sadie was also involved with
Spanish wine producer Terroir Al Límit in the village of
Torroja in
Priorat,
Catalonia. This was a joint collaboration with Dominik A. Huber and viticulturist Jaume Sabaté. The project was founded in 2004 and initially drew upon fruit from the vineyards of Dits del Terra owned by Sadie, Arbossar owned by Huber. Despite the Northern Hemisphere agricultural cycle allowing Sadie to work both vintages, he started taking a less prominent role starting in 2010. Sadie ceased all involvement in the project by 2010 and now focuses solely on his wines in South Africa. ==Production==