Ataraxia
Hemel-en-Aarde is Afrikaans for “heaven and earth.” The estate sits on a particularly heavenly stretch of land beneath a lofty peak of the Babylon’s Tower mountain range. In addition to its unrelenting beauty, Ataraxia is home to some of the most spectacular terroirs South Africa has to offer.
In 2004, The Skyfields Farm was visioned into the Ataraxia wine label when husband and wife, Kevin and Hanli Grant and a few friends purchased this 47-hectare prime vineyard property.
Almost two decades on, they are associated with crafting wines of incredible finesse, balance and depth; wines that proudly hold their own on the international wine stage.
B Vintners
Bruwer Vintners (B Vintners) is a collaboration between cousins Gavin Bruwer and Bruwer Raats (of Raats Family Wines).
Self-described as a ‘vine exploration company’, B Vintners’ aim is to tell the story of the history of the South African wine industry, as they look at sourcing grapes from some of the most interesting vineyards in the Cape Winelands.
With a prime focus on vineyard sites in Stellenbosch, B Vintners brings to life some of the most classic South African heritage grape varietals in a new and exciting way.
Bartho Eksteen Wijnskool
Bartho Eksteen Wijnskool in the Hemel-en-Aarde valley is a family wine farm that can trace their involvement in South African wine farming back to 1702. The Eksteen family moved around the winelands for a few hundred years with Bartho’s grandfather finally settling in Franschhoek working on the family farm, La Bri, which is where Bartho developed his own passion. Bartho quickly made a name for himself in the wine industry: Diners Club Winemaker of the Year 2010, numerous Platters 5 Star Awards, Best Sauvignon Blanc in the world from Tim Atkin MW.
Bartho and his wife, Suné, also started up the Wijnskool (wine school) back in 2011 to impart some of their winemaking knowledge and inspire high school students with hopes of joining the wine industry.
Constantia Glen
A family run business located in the region where South African winemaking began back in 1685, Constantia Glen operates a 60 hectare farm cradled between the Contantiaberg and Table Mountain ranges. Situated at an altitude of 130 – 270 metres above sea level on predominantly north-east facing slopes allows for exposure to late afternoon sun, ideal for the slow ripening that shapes their classically expressed wines.
Constantia Glen produce two white and two red Bordeaux style award-winning wines and they like to keep things simple. Their bottles; Sauvignon Blanc, TWO, THREE and FIVE are simply named after the number of varietals in each bottle.
De Trafford
Great wines start with great vines. The hallmark of De Trafford is the effort spent growing ripe vines with a focus on yield, quality and sustainability, to produce truly outstanding wine.
Situated on the beautiful Mont Fleur farm, 380m up between the Stellenbosch and Helderberg mountains, the De Trafford winery was started in 1992 by former architect David Trafford and his wife Rita. After learning a great deal from local farmers in Stellenbosch and abroad in Bordeaux, David Trafford carefully chose varieties, clones and rootstocks to match the subtle soil and microclimate differences in the farm. Such careful attention to detail is carried through all facets of the growing and winemaking process at De Trafford - the result is seriously well structured and concentrated red wines which convey the personality and uniqueness of the mountain site.
Fable Mountain Vineyards
Situated on the edge of a wilderness reserve, against the rugged slopes of the Witzenberg Mountain Range in Tulbagh, Fable Mountain, with winemaker Tremayne Smith at the reigns, produces terroir-driven, natural expressions of Rhône varietals. Organic farming techniques are employed and there’s minimal intervention in the winery to maintain purity.
The mountains behind the vineyard tower over the vines and its influence is critical to the uniqueness of their site. Every morning the mountain casts a shadow over the farm, which has a cooling effect. In the Summer this allows the grapes to ripen slowly, retaining great natural acidity, and in winter the snowy peak helps keep the vines dormant for longer.
Hogan Wines
Hogan Wines is a small family business spearheaded by winemaker Jocelyn Hogan Wilson. After years working with various wineries, Jocelyn teamed up with her parents to take part in the winemaking revolution of shifting emphasis back to the farmers and focusing attention on small batches of wine.
Hogan selects grapes from vineyards around the Western Cape with ideal climates and soils for the specific varietals, and naturally produces wines with minimal interference. The result is a bottle of wine that contains a unique story of its vintage and showcases the best South Africa has to offer.
L’Avenir
There's nothing more quintessentially South African than Chenin Blanc and Pinotage. L'Avenir, nestled in the slopes of Simonsberg Mountain in Stellenbosch, is a leading boutique winery specializing in these absolutely iconic South African varietals. Owned by the French leader of terroir wines, AdVini, L’Avenir produces authentic South African wines, with a touch of French flair.
Dirk Coetzee is a winemaking trail blazer who has particularly led the way in reimagining the potential of modern Pinotage. Mentored by the legendary Stellenbosch “Pope of Pinotage”, Francois Naudé, Dirk specialises in site specific, authentic wines in the most revered winemaking region in South Africa
La Petite Ferme
Having worked at wineries in France, California and Australia, winemaker Wikus Pretorius brought considerable expertise to the cellar when he joined La Petite Ferme in 2015.
With a stunning view overlooking the Franschhoek Valley, La Petite Ferme’s cellar harvests fruit from the 17 hectares of vineyard surrounding the boutique hotel, but Pretorius also works with selected vineyard sites across the Cape winelands, allowing unique terroirs to add complexity. Working with small volumes, and adopting a handcrafted approach in the cellar, the cellar team produces a remarkably diverse range of wines.
Wikus’s craft approach to winemaking includes adding tiny quantities of Viognier grapes to many of his red wines to add further spice and complexity.
Le Bonheur
Led by winemaker William Wilkinson, Le Bonheur expresses the deep heritage of South African winemaking from four main soil types across a variety of aspects and slopes of Klapmuts Hill, with some of the oldest Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon plantings in Stellenbosch.
Named by its French Huguenot owners in the 1700s, Le Bonheur translates to “happiniess,” and we think you’ll feel the same when drinking these authentic, full bodied, and classically-style wines.
Môreson & Miss Molly
Môreson is a boutique wine farm sitting in the stunning valley of Franschhoek. We discovered Môreson when we were floored (figuratively) tasting their Mercator Chardonnay in South Africa. In fact it’s this wine that helped secure their winemaker, Clayton Reabow, the Diners Club Winemaker of the Year award in 2018. Since then we’ve realised that Clayton works absolute wonders with this incredibly versatile grape. Oaked, unoaked, sparkling MCC, dessert wine - you name it, they do it with Chardonnay, and we can't get enough of it.
The Miss Molly label is named after one of the winemaker’s loyal dogs - a mischievous Weimaraner called Molly! The Miss Molly Bubbly has developed such a massive following over the years they now have to source more Chardonnay grapes from Robertson to supplement those grown in Franschhoek.
Raats Family Wines
For Raats Family Wines it’s all about two grapes; Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc. Their mission to consistently produce outstanding quality wines from these two varieties has earned Raats a stellar international reputation. Raats wines have received glowing write-ups by esteemed wine reviewers such as Tim Atkin, Olly Smith, Matthew Jukes, Neil Martin, James Molesworth and Jancis Robinson.
In further pursuit of perfection, founder Bruwer Raats formed MR de Compostella with long-time friend and winemaker Mzokona Mvemve. The result has been a wine that has achieved consistent world-class quality, vintage after vintage.
Rall Wines
Donovan Rall is an independent winemaker who’s been at the vanguard of the small batch winemaking revolution that has taken South Africa by storm.
After studying viticulture and oenology at the University of Stellenbosch and gaining winemaking experience in Europe and New Zealand, Donovan returned to South Africa and spent a vintage working for renown winemaker Eben Sadie. He developed a strong passion for the Swartland and the varietals that thrived in this warmer climate, eventually deciding to start his own label in 2008 with a focus on these grapes. Since then he's been making waves in the South African wine industry, producing extraordinary minimal intervention wines, vintage after vintage, and this one could be his best yet.
Savage Wines
Duncan Savage is on a constant pursuit of three things in his wine: refinement, elegance and purity. The speed at which he sells out every year is a good clue that he absolutely nails this pursuit in every bottle.
Before launching his own label, Duncan came to know maritime influenced vineyards intimately, working at Cape Point Vineyards for over a decade. As an avid surfer, working at a vineyard next to the ocean was a dream, but he always yearned to do his own thing. Since starting up Savage Wines in 2011, Duncan has been sourcing grapes he believes are most effective in South Africa from mostly maritime and high-altitude vineyards. He develops close relationships with the farmers, focuses on looking for acidity and picking early, producing wines with minimal intervention to let the grapes speak for themselves.
Sijnn Wines
What started as a brief holiday on the south coast in Malgas for owners David & Rita Trafford, turned into a true unicorn in the Western Cape as the first growth appellation in the entire region. David and Rita saw the enormous potential in the Malgas soils and today that potential is resulting in some of the most highly acclaimed wines in South Africa.
With winemaker Charla Haasbroek at the reigns, Sijnn Wines are constantly experimenting and pushing the boundaries of winemaking. Their wines change in composition every vintage, blending Mediterranean varieties best suited to the soils in Malgas that are not commonly seen together or indeed at all in South Africa. There seems to be a soulful intuition that goes into these wines, creating something magical that could never be replicated.
Thistle & Weed
An independent collaboration between winemaker Stephanie Wiid and viticulturist Etienne Terblanche. Together, they set out to discover the best of the Cape’s hidden gems, intent on crafting honest natural wines that are made with a deep connection to nature and offer the most simple expression of the terroir from which they come.
They immediately gained critical acclaim for their Chenin Blanc in particular and now produce three different Chenins from three different old-vine sites around the Cape. Stephanie employs the same minimal intervention winemaking approach to produce pure, site-specific wines. Their wines are Afrikaans names for different thistles and weeds found amongst the vines grown in the Cape. Etienne and Steph draw parallels between thistles and weeds and the uncompromising tenacity and survival skills of grapevines.
Uva Mira Mountain Vineyards
Surrounded by the Helderberg mountain range on the coastal side of Stellenbosch sits Uva Mira Mountain Vineyards. With sweeping views of False Bay and Table Bay, Uva Mira is often wrapped in clouds with ocean breezes gently caressing and cooling the vines. They merge traditional winemaking practices with the latest innovations in technology to create defining modern wines with the ultimate respect for their resources.
Uva Mira’s vision truly comes into reality with the sustainable viticulture, visible from the moment one enters their Estate. You may see owl boxes resting between tree branches and beehives lying alongside the vineyards. Farming in harmony with nature - we can’t think of anything better.
Van Wyk Family Wines
Justin Van Wyk creates absolute masterpieces as the winemaker at Constantia Glen, so naturally when we found out about his own label that he started in 2016 we were more than a little excited.
Justin cast his gaze outside Constantia and scoured the Cape Winelands for special vineyards that fit his vision to create honest South African wines that display a restrained old-world charm. His winemaking approach is gentle and non-invasive, resulting in wines that are pure expressions of the Cape. These are small batch wines that somehow still manage to provide incredible value, exhibiting the passion and modest elegance of a brilliant winemaker.
Wolf and Woman
Wolf & Woman is the result of a lifetime’s love for the Swartland. Winemaker Jolandie Fouché was raised among the vines in the Swartland where, as a kid, she used to pick grapes and work on the farms for pocket money. Her passion developed through school and university where she studied agriculture and started working at wineries. After spending over a decade winemaking in South Africa, Australia and California she started Wolf and Woman to focus her passion for Swartland wines and received immediate acclaim for her first release. Like all of our independent winemakers, Jolandie has a hands-off approach when it comes to winemaking, placing more emphasis on sourcing quality grapes that meet the vision for her wines.
As for the name? Jolandie’s husband came home one day with a quote he said reminded him of her, it read: “Some days I am more wolf than woman and I am still learning how to stop apologizing for my wild.”