Wine tasting and activities at wine estates for families are top tourism attractions in the Western Cape, according to an informal survey of 30 tourism offices across the province conducted by Wesgro.
Wesgro’s Nwabisa Thiso says the report recommends more attention be directed towards this niche market, as has been done in the cycling-tourism industry.
“A healthy tourism industry is dependent on a wide variety of activities for tourists. Cycling is very attractive to many tourists, but others prefer food and wine and others want both. It’s essential that both are promoted as part of a holistic experience and included with our beautiful beaches and other natural resources,” says Ms Thiso.
She adds that Lonely Planet this year identified the Cape Winelands as one of the Top Ten Best Value Destinations in the world. The industry is also credited for having the longest wine route in the world, spanning over six wine regions.
Rita Lutchman, of Panorama, and Margot Barlow, of Goodwood, say De Grendel is a favourite local haunt.
“It’s a great place to chill out and enjoy the view, especially before going back to work,” says Ms Lutchman.
Harland Kordom and Samantha Fredericks, from Burgundy Estate, and Noel Bosch, from Edgemead, are also regular visitors to the farm.
The wine estate is steeped in history. Much of it comes across in their wines made from vines planted in 1999.
The De Grendel Amandelboord Pinotage is inspired by fond memories of the almond orchard through which the young Sir De Villiers Graaff, 4th Baronet and current owner of the estate, would go horse riding with his grandfather Sir De Villiers Graaff, 2nd Baronet. Pinotage was a favourite cultivar of his grandfather.
All De Grendel wine labels have thebear the Graaff family crest with a year 1720. The family are known for their role in the South African political, social and business landscape.
In 1911 David Graaff, the current owner’s great grandfather, was knighted as a baronet by King George V, becoming Sir David Graaff, first Baronet of De Grendel.
Sir David Graaff, 1st Baronet, originally bought the land for Arab horses he acquired in 1889 while on a study tour in Argentina. He initially stabled them at Fernwood in Newlands where they got hoof rot from the wet climate.
Two years later, Sir David Graaff moved them to De Grendel because it was a better climate for the horses. Driving through the main gates horses can still be seen in paddocks. The award-winning De Grendel Koetshuis Sauvignon Blanc is named for the stables built by Sir David Graaff in 1891.
Sir David Graaff was a busy man. At the age of 32, he became mayor of Cape Town and embarked on a major modernisation of the city, including electrification. The first power station, Graaff Electrical Lighting Works, next to the Molteno Reservoir in Oranjezicht, is named after him.
De Grendel’s flagship wine, Rubaiyat 2016, is named after Omar Khayyam’s 10th century collection of 1 000 Persian love poems, a favourite of the late Sir David. Each successive vintage of this classical Bordeaux-style blend of cabernet sauvignon, petit verdot, merlot, and cabernet franc features a different quatrain from the poem on the label, hence the blend of four varietals.
De Grendel originally stretched 5km to the Atlantic Ocean. Today it is 800ha with 65ha under vine and the rest of the farm used for farming of crops and cattle.
According to sommelier Tristan Nell, of Bothasig, early settlers wanting to move inland had two options. They could either take their oxen to the right or left around Tygerberg Hill, through the sandy plains of Bellville or Durbanville. Instead, they found a ditch on the slopes and went over it. De Grendel, Dutch for latch or lock, was named as it was seen as the gateway to getting around.
Winemaker Charles Hopkins says they recently received a Master Award for their Op Die Berg Chardonnay 2019 at the Global Chardonnay Masters. The title of Master is only awarded to exceptional examples, he says.
As for 2020, De Grendel’s marketing manager, Hanro van Tonder, says they are releasing a very special wine later this year but more than that he’s not willing to say, for now.