Written by: Clifford Roberts ; Photography: Johan Viljoen Most people drive through the Swartland on the way to somewhere else. The N7 pulls them north towards Namibia and the Cape’s west coast, while the R46 threads through wheat fields and rolling hills. The smarter move is to stop. Some of the best introductions to this […]

Written by: Clifford Roberts; Photography: Herman Mostert A stay of execution on an important part of Swartland history was granted when the Johannes Family decided to keep the Lammershoek name. After acquiring the property in 2022 and launching Zwartwater Wines, it certainly looked like time for a story born in the early 18th century to […]

Written by: Clifford Roberts; Photograph: Johan Viljoen So you reckon you know the Swartland? Ask most people what they know about the region north of the Cape and you’ll usually get the same answer: wheat fields, a warm climate, and a handful of wineries that got famous a decade or so ago. It’s a fair […]

South Africa, and the world, has a new grape variety. Whereas most modern new varieties are created by careful crafting in the laboratory, Sémillon Gris has emerged from the crucible of the Cape’s long viticultural history. Now, after more than a decade of painstaking selections, analysis and propagation, the historic grape at last exists as […]

Written by Clifford Roberts; Photography by Johan Viljoen Drive north out of Cape Town on the N7 and, within the hour, the vineyards you know start to disappear. No irrigation lines, no manicured terraces. Wide horizons instead, wheat fields, vines – most crouched low against the wind, roots driven deep into ground that has never […]

Written by: Clifford Roberts; Photography: Johan Viljoen Port gets the limelight. Jerez gets the postcards. But tucked into the hills of the Swartland is something older and stranger. The making of fortified wine in the Swartland is not an act of nostalgia. It is not your grandmother’s sherry trolley, and it is certainly not a […]

Written by Clifford Roberts; Photography by Johan Viljoen Old vines are a treasure for South African wine, revealed in large part by the work of Riebeek Valley local Rosa Kruger and Swartland winemakers, and – in no small part – by the dedication of passionate growers. Significantly, many of these vineyards, like Sk’windjiesvlei in the […]

Written by: Clifford Roberts; Photography: Johan Viljoen For more than a decade, the Swartland has enjoyed an almost mythical reputation in global wine circles. It is often described in shorthand: raw, wild, natural. While this narrative helped propel the region onto the international stage, it has also become a simplification. The Swartland is not just […]

Written by: Clifford Roberts; Photography: Johan Viljoen Anniversaries are often marked as mere chronological records denoting the passing of time and, in some part, a nod perhaps to heritage and experience. For the Swartland Wine and Olive Route, which celebrates its establishment in 1986, in every month of March, it’s with worth remembering that its […]