Since 1659
365 years of winemaking at the bottom of Africa.
South African wine is older than California's, older than Australia's, older than most of the New World combined. Here's what makes the Cape different — and why we bring it to the US.
The Heritage
Older than Napa.
Younger than Burgundy.
On 2 February 1659, Jan van Riebeeck pressed the first grapes in the Cape Colony. South Africa has been making wine ever since — three-and-a-half centuries of trial, pandemic, phylloxera, apartheid, rebirth, and renewal.
Today the Cape is one of the most geologically diverse winemaking regions on earth. Within a 90-minute drive of Cape Town you can taste wines grown on ancient granite, decomposed shale, limestone, and red Cape Malmesbury shale — each producing a wine that could only come from there.
The Wine of Origin system, introduced in 1973, was one of the first legally enforced appellation schemes outside Europe. Every bottle we import carries a WO stamp certifying where the grapes grew, what vintage they came from, and what varieties are in the blend — 100% traceable, every time.
What we stand for
Four values, not negotiable.
We never compromise
If a wine isn't ready, we don't bottle it. Every producer we import has earned their place — not paid for it.
Sustainable wine is the future
Organic, biodynamic, Fair Trade, WIETA, IPW — our portfolio is weighted deliberately toward producers farming with a 100-year horizon.
We tell the whole story
The grape, the ground, the people. South African wine is inseparable from the country's history — and we think buyers deserve the full context.
Old vines, living places
South Africa has the world's largest concentration of certified old vineyards (35+ years). Many of our wines come from vines older than most New World wineries.
Wine of Origin
The regions we import from.
Each Cape ward has its own soils, climate, and viticultural personality. Here's a cheat-sheet for the six regions where our 14 producers are based.
Stellenbosch
Granite and decomposed-granite soils at the foot of the Helderberg — the Cape's most famous cellar door.
Cabernet Sauvignon, Chenin Blanc, Pinotage
Paarl
Warm valley floor rising to cooler slopes — home to some of SA's oldest registered vineyards.
Shiraz, Chenin Blanc, Rhône blends
Walker Bay
Cool maritime climate on the Atlantic's edge. Think Burgundy-adjacent, Cape-inflected.
Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc
Breedekloof
High-altitude valley with dramatic diurnal swing — rewarding slow-ripening whites.
Chenin Blanc, Cinsault, Grenache
Sondagskloof
A hidden-gem ward south of Stanford, shaped by the Atlantic's cooling influence.
Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon
Elgin
Apple country turned wine country — the Cape's coolest registered region.
Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Riesling
Taste the Cape for yourself.
Request our trade menu, or book a guided tasting with our team — we'll pour the story of South Africa in one sitting.