South Africa is a place with a lot going on beneath the surface, in every sense. Wine is a prime example. Viticulture has long been an integral part of this region’s agricultural heritage. While Dutch colonizers brought the early vines in the 1650s, the actual hard work of planting, tending, and harvesting the vines was carried out by people who were enslaved, whose labor and essential understanding of the landscape went uncredited for generations.
The wines are excellent, given South Africa’s mix of plentiful sunshine, cooling ocean breezes, and ancient soils — granite, shale, and Table Mountain’s 540-million-year-old sandstone. On this visit, I sip reds perfumed with wild herbs, berries, tobacco, and spices, as the range of aromas and flavors changes dramatically with the varied landscapes.
I find the most exciting developments in the Swartland. Hidden among the golden wheat fields are old vineyards whose contents used to end up in cooperative plonk, until a new generation of winemakers — including Eben Sadie of The Sadie Family Wines, Adi Badenhorst of AA Badenhorst Family Wines, Chris and Andrea Mullineux of Mullineux, and Marc Kent, who had already started Boekenhoutskloof — recognized the potential of the decomposed granite and shale soils here.
Why did this revolution take so long to happen? The apartheid regime, which for decades isolated South Africa and limited opportunities, particularly for Black South Africans, also constrained innovation and global exchange in the wine industry. “The first free elections were only in 1994,” Kent points out, “and that’s when Eben and I were just getting started as winemakers.”
The winemakers who came of age during this new era benefited from a freer political landscape and access to global wine markets. That includes Paul Siguqa, who in 2019 bought Klein Goederust in Franschhoek; Carmen Stevens, who in 1995 became the first Black South African to graduate winemaking college and has since won accolade after accolade for her Stellenbosch wines; 2023 F&W Drinks Innovator Ntsiki Biyela, who was head winemaker at Stellekaya for over a decade before leaving to found her own Aslina brand; and many more who eagerly took on the challenge of cultivating the country’s vinous potential.
“It’s an extreme terroir that has some of the toughest land to farm in the country,” Kent says — but that’s what makes the place exciting. “Structure and discipline never suited me.”
The Swartland is now firmly on the wine map, and the rule-breaking attitudes haven’t changed much. I visit Badenhorst’s winery, down an unpaved road near Malmesbury on Friday morning, because I am unaware that Thursday night is pizza night. “You reserve a table and bring your own wine,” says David Sadie (no relation to Eben), co-owner of David & Nadia winery, when I stop by his place just down the road to try his superb Chenins and Syrah blends. Most of the winemakers around here are regulars at pizza night.
Badenhorst lays out an impressive range of wines, wearing shorts and a T-shirt sporting a slogan that is the French equivalent of “gone fishin.’” We work our way from the easy-drinking Secateurs range up to a pair of very different Cinsauts, both planted in the 1960s: the same soils, less than a mile apart. His Ramnasgras Cinsaut, spicy and fresh with luscious fruit, is a particular treat. I bet it’s great with pizza.
Leaving the Swartland, I move on to Franschhoek, a French-influenced town surrounded by beautiful vineyards and excellent restaurants. There are strong links between the two regions. Most of the grapes for Boekenhoutskloof’s The Chocolate Block, one of South Africa’s most successful reds, come from Swartland vineyards. Tastings, though, are offered at its Franschhoek winery, accompanied by a stunning mountain backdrop. However, Boekenhoutskloof sells its wine at Invincible, its small wine shop and bar in town, where there are old vintages to take away and premium dry-aged steaks for those who want to drink in.
Chris and Andrea Mullineux have also found it easier to offer tastings at a Franschhoek outpost. At the luxury hospitality complex Leeu Estates, visitors can book The Wine Studio to try the old-vine Leeu Passant wines, including one from a Cinsaut parcel planted in 1900, and the single-terroir Mullineux Syrahs: Granite, Iron, and Schist. These are different enough to convince any skeptic of the power of soil: black tea and raspberries in the granite, rich black fruit in the Iron, pepper in the savory Schist.
In Franschhoek, I spend an extra day tasting with the tour company Escape+Explore, stopping first at Muratie, a delightfully tumbledown winery with a view of Table Mountain. At L’Avenir, where the tasting room overlooks a pretty lake and a 1973 Chenin Blanc vineyard that winemaker Dirk Coetzee calls “the old lady.” Coetzee’s Pinotages are delicious, all zippy acidity and juicy red fruit.
I didn’t think I needed any more proof that South African reds are now all that a braai lover could want and more, but Oldenburg Vineyards offers another revelation. As I taste winemaker Nic van Aarde’s delicate, floral Cabernet Franc, perfumed Syrah, and supremely elegant Cabernet Sauvignon, I look out through the panoramic windows at the stunning backdrop and realize that these whippersnapper reds are as connected to the landscape as they are to the nation’s promising future — a delicious expression of a bountiful region, of changing political realities, and of a community of producers redefining what South African wine can be.
Wineries to visit in South Africa’s Cape Winelands
The tasting room at Boekenhoutskloof, where visitors enjoy an extensive 90-minute tasting.
COURTESY OF BOEKENHOUTSKLOOF
David & Nadia (Swartland)
Intimate tutored tastings of both old-vine and younger Chenin Blanc and Grenache are accompanied by the chance to learn more about the winemakers’ farming ethos. Reservations are required at David & Nadia.
Mullineux (Swartland)
Reserve a spot for a guided walk through Mullineux’s sustainably farmed vineyards, followed by a curated tasting of its signature and single-terroir wines. You can also taste the wines at Leeu Estates in its glamorous Wine Studio.
The Sadie Family Wines (Swartland)
Guests can explore this appointment-only winery’s historic cellar and taste the estate’s minimal-intervention reds during The Sadie Family Wines’ occasional public tasting days.
AA Badenhorst Family Wines (Malmesbury)
Adi Badenhorst welcomes guests to try his expressive blends on Wednesdays and select Fridays at 11:30 a.m., along with optional farm lunches all year round. Book AA Badenhorst cellar tour appointments at least 48 hours ahead.
Boekenhoutskloof (Franschhoek)
Book an appointment on Tuesdays and Thursdays to join a 90-minute communal tasting hosted by the winemaker at Boekenhoutskloof. You’ll sample Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and the cult-favorite The Chocolate Block.
Invincible (Franschhoek)
Drop in to Invincible, a chic retail and tasting space in the village center, which offers sips of some of its preferred bottles alongside small bites for when you need a nibble.
L’Avenir (Stellenbosch)
Select from themed flights like the Provenance Tasting, the Single Block Experience, or the All-Year Summer Tasting, then elevate your visit to L’Avenir with a local cheese and charcuterie pairing.
Muratie (Stellenbosch)
Choose a five-wine Classic or Premium tasting — or upgrade to flagship pours or a cheese and wine pairing — in the cozy cellar at Muratie.
Oldenburg Vineyards (Stellenbosch)
In a tranquil tasting room overlooking the amphitheater of Rondekop vineyards, sip The 8 Elements Tasting flight — two whites, two reds, and two Rondekop reds of your choice — at Oldenburg.
Traveling to South Africa’s Cape Winelands
U.S.-based travelers can book direct flights to Cape Town from Atlanta or New York through Delta Air Lines or United Airlines. Once there, many tour companies offer private tours of South Africa’s wine country, and Abercrombie & Kent can organize bespoke trips. Riebeek-Kasteel, a good base for exploring the Swartland, is an hour’s drive north of Cape Town. Jarat Tours can provide a driver, or you can drive yourself. (Be aware that vehicles travel on the left side of the road.)
Where to stay in South Africa’s Cape Winelands
Babylonstoren, a 2025 Global Tastemakers winner, features an edible garden, museum, and gelato room.
COURTESY OF BABYLONSTOREN
Kokos Huis (Riebeek-Kasteel)
Kokos Huis is a quaint six-bedroom, three-studio guesthouse with a small pool. There’s no full restaurant, but great breakfasts and local natural wines are available. Each cottage has local coffee, tea, milk, butter, eggs, bread, and wine waiting. Rooms from $112
Last Word (Franschloek)
A charming 10-room hotel, Last Word has spacious rooms, an honesty bar, and a minuscule pool. Rooms from $363
Babylonstoren (Simondium)
At this sprawling estate, bread, gelato, and mozzarella are made on-site, and guests are invited to forage for their own produce. Babylonstoren also makes excellent wines. Rooms from $791
Dining and Cooking