Where It All Began

Making wine culture inclusive in South Africa

Wine culture does not have to be snobby and nor should it be: but the Cape Winelands in South Africa have a dark past of exclusion and repression by the rich of the poor.

So the move by Mark Solms and the Astor Family in 2007 to make the farm workers one-third owners of the estate was bold and literally ground-breaking. Solms and team discovered an archaeological history buried on the farm which is now celebrated and preserved in the farm’s restaurant and tasting room.

The journey to proper representation and communal pride has not been easy. Solms Delta remains one of the very few places in the Winelands where the original inhabitants of the land benefit directly from and form part and parcel of every aspect of the entreprise.

There’s so much to do here: choose from a visit to the deli, the museum, the culinary garden or the restaurant and tasting room. And the wine’s amazing too!
We recommend staying at Nooks Pied a Terre: an avant-garde five-star hideaway with a vast double height lounge area and superb kitchen. Prices from R2 750 ($190 / £153 / €185) for two sharing per night.