We have wanted to keep bees for as long as we have owned Shuette. In 2026 we felt ready to commit to learning about them, and we brought home two amazing Flow Hives.
The hives sit in our six-hectare organic meadow at the top of the vineyard. Bees can fly up to 3 km in search of pollen, so from this spot our colonies can help pollinate all of Shuette and much of the surrounding area. This is the main reason we keep bees. Two healthy colonies support the wider ecology of our land and the land around us, and we consider them a key layer of our regenerative farming philosophy.
We chose Flow Hives because they let us check on the colony through viewing windows and, more importantly, extract honey without removing the comb or greatly disturbing the bees. Extracting frame by frame, in situ, has also shown us how much the honey changes through the season. As new flowers come into bloom, the colour, taste and aroma shift with them, so each harvest reflects what the bees were foraging at the time.
I’m excited to offer some of this honey for sale at the Chateau. All proceeds go back into the maintenance and growth of the hives.
If you would like to know if we have any jars available, you can email contact@shuette.com.