Wildekrans Wine Estate
ワイルドクランス・ワイン・エステート
A 1,000-hectare Bot River farm crafting elegant, cool-climate Pinotage.
About Wildekrans Wine Estate
Wildekrans Wine Estate is a 1,000-hectare property in the Bot River Valley of South Africa's Walker Bay district, one of the earliest wine producers to plant vines in the area. Farmed since at least the 17th century and long known by its original name 'Keerweer,' the land was formally titled in 1864 and remained a mixed farm — growing wheat and fruit and grazing livestock — before its first vines of Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc went in the ground in 1982. Since the Harlow family took ownership in 2007, Wildekrans has invested heavily in its vineyards and cellar, earning the Novare SA Terroir Wine Estate of the Year award in 2012. Roughly 35-55 hectares are under vine on clay-rich, stony soils cooled by Atlantic sea breezes off the nearby Southern Ocean, producing elegant, fruit-driven wines led by its signature Pinotage, alongside Shiraz, a Cabernet Franc-Merlot blend, Chenin Blanc, and a Sauvignon Blanc-Semillon blend across its Estate and Barrel Select Reserve ranges. Beyond wine, the estate remains a working farm producing stone fruit and three varieties of award-winning extra virgin olive oil, and takes part in South Africa's Biodiversity & Wine Initiative.
Who Is This For?
For explorers of South Africa's cool-climate wines, admirers of characterful Pinotage, and anyone curious about an estate that pairs serious winemaking with working farmland and olive groves.
Wines of Wildekrans Wine Estate
No cuvées registered yet.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How large is Wildekrans Wine Estate, and how much of it is vineyard?
- The estate covers roughly 1,000 hectares in the Bot River Valley, but only about 35-55 hectares are planted to vine — the rest is given over to fynbos, orchards, olive groves, and grazing land, reflecting its history as a mixed farm.
- What is Wildekrans best known for?
- Pinotage is the estate's signature wine and calling card, alongside award-winning Shiraz, a Cabernet Franc-Merlot blend, Chenin Blanc, and a Sauvignon Blanc-Semillon blend across its Estate and Barrel Select Reserve ranges.
- Does Wildekrans produce anything besides wine?
- Yes. The estate also makes three different extra virgin olive oils from its own groves and grows stone fruit, and it hosts wine and olive-oil tastings on-site as part of its farm experience.
- Who owns Wildekrans today, and what is its history?
- The Harlow family has owned and run Wildekrans since 2007. The land was farmed as far back as the 17th century under the name 'Keerweer' and formally titled in 1864, but its first vines weren't planted until 1982; under the Harlows it was named Wine Estate of the Year at the 2012 Novare SA Terroir Wine Awards.
- What makes the Bot River terroir distinctive?
- Cooling breezes off the nearby Atlantic and Southern Ocean, combined with clay-rich, stony soils, slow grape ripening and preserve natural acidity, giving Wildekrans wines their freshness and elegance despite South Africa's generally warm climate.