South Africa | Cape South Coast

Panorama View Of Bot River Vineyards

The Cape South Coast is South Africa's coolest wine growing region and encompasses wineries in several wine growing districts that include the Elgin Valley, Walker Bay and Overberg.

The Cape South Coast region is home to a diverse range of producers, ranging from the traditional to the cutting-edge and unconventional, but who are all committed to quality-driven, cool-climate wines with a sense of place.

The Elgin Valley's secret lies in its unique terroir. Here diverse soils, fanned by cooling ocean breezes ensure perfect conditions for slow ripening, allowing the grapes to develop their intense flavours, complexity and finesse. With its tapestry of vineyards and apple orchards, Elgin is renowned for its elegant, award-winning wines and Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Noir and Shiraz all fare particularly well in this region.

The Walker Bay wine region is reputed for some of the country's finest expressions of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and innovative, complex red wine blends which emanate from the picturesque Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge ward. The ward of Bot River is home to an eclectic mix of conservation conscious wineries ranging from historic and time-honoured to ultra modern, state of the art cellars. The area is known for individualistic, terroir-expressive cool-climate varietals, including internationally acclaimed Chenin blanc, Sauvignon blanc, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon.

The Overberg wine district is rapidly earning a reputation for premium, cool climate, grape growing with award-winning wines emerging from the Klein River ward near Stanford. The ward of Greyton is home to Samantha O'Keefe and her multi-award winning Lismore Estate.

In the wine growing district of Cape Agulhas the ward of Elim is situated just 20 kilometres from the southernmost tip of Africa, where the Atlantic and Indian oceans meet. Here a collective of winemakers (including one from Napier) has set out to conquer the inhospitable but unique terroir and craft top quality examples of Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon and Shiraz.