Photographs from Boschendal  Add/Read Comments

A surprise then to see a batch of Shiraz grapes, fresh from a near-by vineyard, pulling up to a destemmer at Boschendal.

With the size of the operation at Boschendal it shouldn't have come as a surprise. Restaurants, picnic areas, gift shop, wine tasting centre and so on are all open to the casual visitor. Boschendal is not one of the top tourist attractions in the winelands for nothing!

Boschendal is one of the oldest wine producers in the New World with a French Huguenot "viticultural heritage" dating back to 1685. The manor house, one of the most photographed wine buildings in the world I would imagine, dates back to 1812 and is a prime example of Cape Dutch architecture. Think of the Cape and this style of building immediately comes to mind.

The Boschendal vineyards cover an area of 254 hectares. Geographically they extend for six kilometers along the slopes of the Groot Drakenstein Mountain towards the Dwarsriver, to the slopes of the Simonsberg Mountain.

'Signature' grapes are Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc but more recent plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Shiraz demonstrates the aim of becoming one of South Africa's top red wine producers. Note though the lack of any mention of Chenin Blanc or Pinotage...