Ambeloui Wine Estate

About Ambeloui Wine Estate

The birth of this estate began with the dream of Nick Christodoulou and his wife who dreamed of a small vineyards and a small amount of bottled wine to share with the family. Together with their four children, they moved to Hout Bay and began making Ambeloui Cap Classique sparkling wine.The name of Ambeloui is the Cypriot of ‘little vineyard’ and Christodoulou (Greek-Cypriot) means ‘servant of Christ’. So it makes perfect sense that Byzantine icon of St. Nicholas can be found at the entrance of the cellar.

This family-run winery has named each vintage after a family member. The first vines of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir were planted on the farm in 1995, but the estate was completed a year later when a cellar was added as well as a rose and lavender garden. Grapes are harvested from other vineyards in addition to their own and the focus remains on Methode Cap Classique, a bottle fermented sparkling wine. This family affair runs smoothly with Nick as the winemaker, and the rest of the growing family in positions as assistant wine maker, marketing manager and in production.

They use hand operated equipment imported from France and Italy and traditional wooden riddling racks. Approximately 700 bottles are produced per annum and aged for 2-3 years before release.

To view more wine estates in the region see Constantia Wine Estates or see South Africa Wine Estates for a general overview and links to other wine producing regions.