Our promise
To those looking for a real wine experience that is truly unpretentious, Bonnievale Wines promises delightful wines that consistently exceed expectations. The passionate and skilled winemakers are able to select the best grapes from a large expanse of vineyards, accessing an amazing diversity of the area’s varied terroir. Only the very best of each vintage is bottled, assuring quality for the wine lover. The wines are as welcoming and soothing as the beautiful valley that produces them. Evocative of an easily elegant country lifestyle, the wines invite you to become part of the real-life stories of the people rooted here.
Our history
Bonnievale Wines is named after our quaint village founded by visionary Scotsman Christopher Forrest Rigg around the turn of the 19th century. Rigg bought a sizeable track of land in the valley known today as Bonnievale. With his entrepreneurial spirit and realization of the agricultural potential, he developed an irrigation canal to ensure a reliable water supply to the region.
Rigg 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 in the north of South Africa. He referred to brave settlement as “The Chance of a Lifetime”. Those who made their home in the area certainly took his philosophy to heart. Through sheer hard work and dedication, the successful, thriving town of Riggton was born. Rigg later renamed it to Bonnievale, meaning Beautiful Valley, after his grandfather’s residence in Scotland.
By the mid-1990s there were three producer-owned wineries in Bonnievale: Bonnievale Cellar, Merwespont and Nordale. The leadership of the three companies started discussing the idea of amalgamation, realising that combining their production capacity, expertise in wine-making and marketing and industry buying power would give them a distinct competitive advantage.
In 2006, after nearly a decade of talks, the moment was finally right and the companies merged to form Bonnievale Wines Ltd.
What followed has been an incredible success story that has seen Bonnievale Wines grow into one of SA’s largest producers while increasing exports and making inroads into the domestic, bottled market with the Bonnievale Wines ranges. The quality of the wines has further improved substantially, as shown by the impressive contents of the awards trophy case.
Our quality
Over more than half a century Bonnievale Wines has built a sustainable grape supply network of 100 grape producers across the fertile Bonnievale valley. Their fruit is influenced by a variety of geology, geography and climate that provides diverse terroirs.
Bonnievale Wines' winemakers make use of this rich palette, selecting from a treasure chest of terroir potential. With the strict approach to only bottle the best, Bonnievale Wines has managed to establish a reputation for consistently over-delivering on quality.
As a result, Bonnievale Wines is a repeated top performer in local and international wine awards and has amassed an extensive collection of medals and trophies.
The pursuit of quality also extends to other area of the business. Export growth stems both for expanded business with long-standing customers, and from new customer business. Exporting approximately one third of its total production per year has helped Bonnievale Wines hone its export logistics service into a valuable business asset.
Our vineyards
The vineyards that supply fruit for our wines benefit from a varied terroir that includes the mountain ranges of the Langeberg and Overberg; two large rivers, the Breede and Riviersonderend; proximity to the ocean; and, deep, lime soils.
The grape varieties which thrive in this region and make up our wines are:
- White: Sauvignon blanc, Chardonnay, Chenin blanc, Colombar, Nouvelle.
- Red: Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinotage, Merlot, Ruby Cabernet.
Quality of fruit is ensured through a number of specific measures, including:
• All vineyards and grapes are classed strictly according to quality standards;
• Grape producers are remunerated in line with the quality delivered;
• Direct exports amount to more than one third of total good wine production; and,
• Only the best, vineyard-selected 15% is bottled.
Our quality processes and engineering
Our three cellars process 25 000 - 28 000 tons of grapes per season. We employ:
• Cold stabilization facilities at each cellar;
• New generation centrifuge unit; and,
• Mobile crossflow filter units.
The three facilities enable us to manage each of our grape and wine classes completely independently of each other. We are thereby able to track the grapes from the best wines back to not just the actual tank, but the exact vineyard where they were produced.
The owners of these vineyards are encouraged to practice advanced grape growing techniques, to ensure that the cellar is able to produce premium wines year after year.