Our Location

Swartland Wineries can be found near a town called Malmesbury, which is situated in the 'Swartland' area of the Western Cape in South Africa.

Swartland Wineries can be found near a town called Malmesbury, which is situated in the 'Swartland' area of the Western Cape in South Africa. The town of Malmesbury is surrounded by wheat fields and vineyards and is one of the best known towns in the Swartland. The town grew up around hot medicinal springs, to be found in the centre of town. These, however, have not been developed in modern times.

The arable land of the Swartland is ideally suited for the growth of grapes in the natural bushvine style. The climate is warm and dry, with an average summer temperatures range of 25 - 35 degrees celcius, with very low rainfall of between 450 mm and 600 mm per annum. The soil type varies from Hutton, Clovelly, Sandy Fernwood and Kroonstad, but the predominant soil type is Malmesbury Shale, with patches of granite and Table Mountain sandstone. Fortunately the soil has a good gravel understructure which allows the soil to retain moisture during the hot dry summers without requiring formal irrigation structures.

85% of the vines grown in the region are small bush vines, yielding only an average of 7 tons of grapes per hectare, as opposed to the higher yields from trellised vines. The process of cultivating bush vines is largely determined by nature. Cool breezes off the Atlantic Ocean in the afternoon modify the many microclimates, altering the outcome of the physical grape, just as vines situated at the base of the Kasteelberg and Perdeberg mountains have access to more irrigation during the colouring period than their counterparts on the rolling hills of the western parts, significantly altering the outcome. Essentially, the dryer conditions result in smaller grape berries, but increases the levels of concentrated sugar, acid and flavour components, providing excellent raw materials for our cellar master to work with.

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