Saldanha Wine & Spirits Company
サルダーニャ・ワイン&スピリッツ・カンパニー
South Africa's only dedicated Sherry-style specialist, matured by the sea
About Saldanha Wine & Spirits Company
Founded in 2023 by South African winemaker Adi Badenhorst (of A.A. Badenhorst Family Wines) and his cousin Hein Badenhorst, Saldanha Wine & Spirits Company is a specialist fortified-wine project set inside a converted Shell filling station on the beach at Saldanha Bay, on South Africa's West Coast. It is widely regarded as the only dedicated Sherry-style wine producer in South Africa, dedicated to reviving the country's historic tradition of fortified and sweet wines. The grapes — mainly old-vine Palomino and Verdelho, alongside Muscat/Hanepoot for the sweet wines — are farmed at Kalmoesfontein Farm in the Paardeberg, inland Swartland, where A.A. Badenhorst Family Wines is based; the wines are certified WO Swartland or WO Coastal Region. What makes the project distinctive is that fermentation and long oxidative or flor-influenced maturation take place in Saldanha Bay itself, where the cool, humid, breezy maritime climate off the Atlantic is used deliberately as a 'natural cellar' in place of temperature-controlled tanks, lending the wines freshness, salinity and lift. Because 'Sherry' is a protected term reserved for wines from Jerez, Spain, the range is labelled using the traditional styles and methods (Fino, Amontillado, Oloroso, Palo Cortado-adjacent blends) without using the word itself. The lineup includes Palomino-based dry sherry styles (labelled Pale Dry / Fino Select), Amontillado (aged around 18 months under flor and then roughly a further decade oxidatively), Oloroso (aged oxidatively for around 12 years with no flor), sweeter Medium Cream and Full Cream styles, a fortified Muscat-based Jerepigo, and a Cape Vintage-style fortified red, alongside occasional small-batch releases such as a Pét-Nat and a Sauvignon Blanc ('Viskop Mafia'). Everything is bottled as once-off, small-batch editions rather than a fixed annual range. Several bottlings have earned Five Star ratings (95-96 points) in Platter's South African Wine Guide, and the venture was named Newcomer Winery of the Year for its technical depth given how young it is. The cellar doubles as a seasonal, reservation-only oyster-and-wine beach bar.
Who Is This For?
For adventurous drinkers and sommeliers who love Sherry, Jerepigo, and other oxidative or fortified styles, and want to see South Africa's historic fortified-wine tradition reimagined by a top Swartland winemaker.
Wines of Saldanha Wine & Spirits Company
No cuvées registered yet.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Who founded Saldanha Wine & Spirits Company and when?
- It was founded in 2023 by South African winemaker Adi Badenhorst of A.A. Badenhorst Family Wines together with his cousin Hein Badenhorst, as a dedicated project to revive South Africa's historic fortified and sweet wine tradition.
- Where are the grapes grown and where are the wines matured?
- The grapes, mainly old-vine Palomino and Verdelho, are grown inland at Kalmoesfontein Farm in the Paardeberg, Swartland — the home estate of A.A. Badenhorst. The wines are then aged in the cooler, humid maritime air of the cellar at Saldanha Bay on the West Coast, which the producers use deliberately as a natural aging environment.
- Why doesn't Saldanha Wine & Spirits Company call its wines 'Sherry'?
- 'Sherry' is a legally protected term reserved for fortified wines from Jerez, Spain, so the South African wines are labelled by their traditional style names instead — such as Fino, Amontillado, and Oloroso — while using the same grapes and methods.
- What is the appellation status of the wines?
- Because the grapes are grown in the Swartland but matured at Saldanha Bay, the wines are certified as WO Swartland or WO Coastal Region under South Africa's Wine of Origin scheme.
- What styles does the range include?
- The core range covers dry Palomino-based styles (Pale Dry/Fino Select), Amontillado, Oloroso, sweeter Medium Cream and Full Cream styles, a Muscat-based Jerepigo, and a fortified Cape Vintage-style red, plus occasional limited releases like a Pét-Nat and a Sauvignon Blanc.