Org de Rac
オルグ・デ・ラック
South Africa's original 100% organic wine pioneer, guided by a Kanonkop grandson.
About Org de Rac
Org de Rac is a pioneering organic wine estate on the slopes of the Piketberg Hills in the Swartland, South Africa. Founded in 2000 by fishing-industry entrepreneur Nico Bacon, with vines planted from 2002 and the inaugural vintage released in 2005, it was South Africa's first vineyard established specifically as an organic venture and remains one of the country's earliest 100% certified organic wine farms. Malmesbury shale soils and cooling breezes from the Atlantic Ocean, some 50km away, shape wines of purity and freshness. Cellar master Frank Meaker — grandson of Kanonkop founder Paul Sauer and previously of Distillers Corporation — leads winemaking alongside winemaker Lizelle Gerber, farming without synthetic chemicals through hand-weeding, crop rotation, composting and careful canopy management. The estate is certified by Control Union/SGS, WIETA-approved for fair labour, and part of the WWF Biodiversity and Wine Initiative. The range spans Estate and Reserve tiers plus Méthode Cap Classique, grappa and port-style wines, from red varieties including Shiraz, Grenache Noir, Mourvèdre, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Pinot Noir and Tempranillo, and white varieties including Chenin Blanc, Roussanne, Verdelho and Chardonnay.
Who Is This For?
For wine lovers who value organic, low-intervention farming and want to taste how a Swartland pioneer expresses terroir through decades of chemical-free viticulture.
Wines of Org de Rac
No cuvées registered yet.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is Org de Rac actually certified organic, or just 'natural' in style?
- It is fully certified: Org de Rac was one of the first wine farms in South Africa to achieve 100% organic certification (Control Union/SGS), and its vineyards were established specifically as an organic venture from the outset in 2000.
- Who makes the wine at Org de Rac, and what is the Kanonkop connection?
- Cellar master Frank Meaker leads winemaking together with winemaker Lizelle Gerber. Meaker is the grandson of Paul Sauer, founder of the renowned Stellenbosch estate Kanonkop, and previously trained at Distillers Corporation before turning to organic viticulture in the Swartland.
- Where exactly is Org de Rac located?
- The estate sits on the slopes of the Piketberg Hills, off the N7 in the Swartland region of South Africa's Western Cape, roughly 50km from the Atlantic coast.
- What grape varieties does Org de Rac grow?
- Reds include Shiraz, Grenache Noir, Mourvèdre, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Pinot Noir and Tempranillo; whites include Chenin Blanc, Roussanne, Verdelho and Chardonnay, across Estate and Reserve tiers as well as Méthode Cap Classique, grappa and port-style bottlings.
- Why does organic farming matter to Org de Rac's philosophy?
- For cellar master Frank Meaker, organic farming is not a marketing trend but a return to traditional methods — hand-weeding, crop rotation, composting and careful canopy management — that build the vines' own natural disease resistance rather than relying on synthetic inputs.