Yonder Hill Wine Estate

About Yonder Hill Wine Estate

Yonder Hill is one of those wine farms where you can easily become a regular. Upon arrival you will be mostly we were welcomed by their marketing manager Susan or their winemaker Bennie. It's positioned between Somerset West and Stellenbosch and provides a peaceful retreat for wine lovers and looking to relax in beautiful surroundings.

On the Helderberg slopes you will find 13 hectares of vineyards including three cultivars of Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Smaller plantings of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot can also be found on the land. Due to the sea breezes, the ripening process is quite different to grapes planted in Stellenbosch. Harvest takes places three weeks later here.

Yonder Hill's cellar was first built in 2003 and later renovated to include a more modern feel in 2007. The cellar houses up to 800 litre capacity French oak barrels with 225 litre capacities each.

The estate's main red wines, the Inanda, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon spend time maturing in the oak barrels whilst the Chardonnay has to ferment in stainless steels tanks. As with any wine estate, harvest is a special time which marks the end of picking season and the beginning of a new cycle. Grape trampling in barrels commences once a prayer is said and harvest begins.

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