Covid-19 update

We are so excited to reopen our doors to all of our beloved clients.

Strict Covid-19 procedures will be routinely followed for your safety.

We will be open Monday to Thursday from 09:h00 to 17h00 for sales only.

Unfortunately there will be no wine tastings.

Online sales and deliveries will continue throughout the week.

About Bonnievale Wines

To those looking for a real wine experience that is truly unpretentious, BONNIEVALE WINES promises delightful wines that consistently exceed expectations. Our passionate and skilled wine-makers can select the best grapes from a large expanse of vineyards, accessing an amazing diversity of our area’s varied terroir. We bottle only the very best of each vintage, assuring quality for the wine lover. Our wines are as welcoming and soothing as the beautiful valley that produces them. Evocative of an elegant country lifestyle, the wines invite you to become part of the real-life stories of the people rooted here.

Bonnievale Wines is named after our quaint town. The town was founded by the visionary Scotsman Christopher Forrest Rigg around the turn of the 19th century. Rigg saw potential in the then semi-arid valley on the banks of the Breede River. He used most of his personal resources and all of his persuasive ability to sell the idea to like-minded pioneers and people seeking their fortune in the aftermath of the Gold Rush. He oversaw the construction of an irrigation canal that helped unlock the agricultural potential of the rich soils. It still provides most of the town’s water to this day.

For more than half a century Bonnievale Wines has produced wine from the fertile land in the Bonnievale valley.

Elethu spreads its wings

Wine has been farmed in the Bonnievale Valley for over a century thanks to its inimitable suitability to produce outstanding quality of fruit. Here, a diversity of soils, micro-climates and aspects matched by passion underlies the character of every bottle bearing the name of Bonnievale.

While Elethu supplies fruit to Bonnievale Wines, the workers receive training in aspects from management to viticulture.

In addition to the advantages of ownership that have empowered the trust’s 30 beneficiaries, the enterprise has created indirect benefits for the families that are also sustained.

The change in operations at the end of this month sees the departure of the commercial farmer who has co-farmed with the trust’s farm manager. Now all employees will be paid by the trust.
Furthermore, the significant improvement in capacity of Elethu’s irrigation dam has improved drought-resilience and ensured an adequate supply of water for the future.

With its winemaking strength enhanced by the overseeing of the project by winemaker Edwin Mathambo, new projects have also come on-stream. The trust purchased several new oak barrels to mature Cabernet Sauvignon wine for release under its own label by the end of 2022.

It is also scheduled over the coming year to plant an additional eight hectares of vines, comprising 2.7ha of Cabernet Sauvignon; 2.7ha of Merlot; and, 2.7ha of Chardonnay; and, the SA Wine Industry Transformation Fund has approved funding for essential infrastructure upgrades.

Meet Bonnievale Wines

Bonnievale Selection

Spoilt for Choice

The fertile land in the Bonnievale valley boasts a variety of geology, geography and climate, creating a varied terroir that is evident in the grapes produced here.

Over more than half a century Bonnievale has produced wine from the fertile land in the Bonnievale Valley. The area extends to within 100km from the ocean and includes two rivers (the Breede and Riviersonderend) and hills and mountains that offers a variety of slopes and micro-climates.

Bonnievale’s wine makers get to play with this rich palette, picking and choosing from the treasure chest of terroir potential. With the strict policy of ‘only bottling the best’, Bonnievale Wines has managed to establish a reputation for consistently over-delivering on quality.

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