Protea Wines Japan is proud to introduce the Stone Town range of wines from Spice Route Winery.
A relatively new winery, presenting wines from the Swartland region famous for its Sauvignon Blanc and port wines. While the winery itself is distant from Cape Town, owner Charles Black has created a center of crafts to showcase these wines as well as other splendid local products in an accessible location near to Cape Town, and this has proved extremely popular with visitors.
Spice Route Winery Particulars:
- Location: Paarl
- Farming style: conventional
- Contributions: local outreach programmes.
- Brand Info: regional expression and dryland farming
- Established: 1997
Spice Route Paarl
The Spice Route Paarl is a popular tourist destination located in the city of Paarl, South Africa. The old farm house offers a variety to explore: typical South African delicacies like local wines from the surrounding wine yards, draft beer and dark chocolates. The name Spice Route dates back to the historical mariners who used to trade Eastern spices to Europe along the “Spice Route” for spice trade in the 15th century. The Estate gives visitors the opportunity to explore local foods, beverages and goods that are produced in a traditional manner, supporting the local community while spreading the taste and spirit of South Africa out to the world. Its cellar production and wine tasting is conducted of red and white wines from the local Malmesbury and Darling vineyards, which have received national and international attention.
Spice Route Winery History and Development
The Swartland area has emerged as one of the leading and most expressive wine producing regions in the Western Cape. The cooling Atlantic breezes lend natures hand in the vineyard, helping to sustain the low-yielding vines through the hot warm dry summers, and cold wet winters.
Charles Back, owner of the well-known Fairview estate, initiated the exploration of the Swartland for its unique viticultural heritage and geological composition which allowed for dryland farming in extreme conditions. This has since inspired many other winemakers to sculpt their own expression of the region.
The Spice Route Winery’s Swartland vineyards are located on Klein Amoskuil farm, a few kilometres South of Malmesbury on the Western foothills of the Paardeberg Mountain where deep iron-rich clay and decomposed granite meet old Malmesbury shale soils.
A few years after planting on Klein Amoskuil farm, a virgin piece of land was acquired in the more maritime hills of Darling, part of the Swartland, only four kilometres off the cold Atlantic Ocean, which proved to have similar soil profiles to the exciting Klein Amoskuil vineyards. At the time, this land was classified as a sub-ward of the Swartland, and the idea was to bring a fresher element into the Spice Route wines.
Darling’s reputation for cool climate Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah grew, the region became a viticultural entity in its own right, and now those vineyards treated separately from the Swartland origin vineyards. The Stone Town range is sourced from these Darling vineyards.
Soil & Terrain
Darling is increasingly regarded as a prime Sauvignon Blanc growing area in the Western Cape. Spice Route’s vineyards on the rolling hills outside this sleepy town are less than 4km from the Atlantic Ocean and its cooling breezes are instantly apparent if one visits the site. The deep red Oakleaf soils here are perfectly suited to producing Sauvignon Blanc grapes of intense flavour and intriguing minerality. These vines are trellised and with strong vigour require constant attention to ensure that yields are carefully managed. In addition Sauvignon Blanc, there is bushvine Chenin Blanc, Semillon, Grenache and Shiraz.
Further images of Spice Route Paarl and Fairview Estate
Below are photos of Fairview and Seidelberg estates, where the Spice Route Paarl is located. Fairview is owned by Charles Black, who subsequently founded Spice Route Winery based in the Swartland and in Darling.
