A Guide to the Swartland, South Africa's Most Underrated Wine Region

18.05.2024 - 14:29 / cntraveler.com / Clint Eastwood

An hour north of Cape Town, the Swartland, one of the largest wine-producing areas in the Western Cape, doesn’t receive nearly the same attention as its polished neighbors in the Cape Winelands; the clean-cut vineyards of Stellenbosch, Paarl, and Franschhoek, where a hop-on, hop-off wine tram runs through the valley. Instead, the Swartland is the opposite of a wine tourism hub, with dirt roads carving through golden wheat fields that form a pattern of stripes along the foothills of Paardeberg mountain. Along the highway, carefully stacked hay bales form a makeshift café—one of the sole roadside stops—and the only pop of color punctuating the blonde, desert-like expanse (which could double as a backdrop for a Clint Eastwood film) comes from the patchwork of old-bush vines and olive groves. After the winter rains, the native rhinoceros bush takes on an inky hue, which is how the Swartland (Afrikaans for “black land”) earned its name.

A group of independent winemakers helped raise the profile (and reputation) of the vast region's wine when they launched the Swartland Revolution nearly 25 years ago. Now, an influx of young artists, winemakers, and creatives are transforming the area into an artistic hub and hideaway. “The winemakers behind the revolution—who were once seen as outsiders—have created a different way of thinking, they developed a culture,” says Izak Mouton, founder and winemaker of independent label Sakkie Mouton Family Wines, which he produces at a winery in Riebeek Kasteel, the region’s gateway town.

Samantha Suddons, who crafts low-intervention wines in town under the label VINEVENOM, adds that as more young winemakers travel to other wine regions, they’re bringing that knowledge back home. “You've got a lot more experimentation and unique styles coming out of South Africa as people are working with underrated grapes and planting for a sustainable future with vines that are drought-resistant and tolerant to the Swartland heat,” she says. “The experimentation is allowing for such a diverse range of styles of wine you won’t see anywhere else.”

At natural winery, Intellego, you can join winemakers for a sunrise wine braai (barbecue) in the vineyard.

Jurgen Gouws and Prisca Llagostera, the couple behind Intellego

In Riebeek Kasteel, Main Street’s Victorian buildings are dominated by a handful of art galleries and ceramics shops huddled across from colonial-style The Royal Hotel, one of the oldest hotels in the country. (It’s considered a little sister to Cape Town's grande dame Mount Nelson, A Belmond Hotel.) Wine tastings are an informal affair, taking place everywhere from picnic tables outside Rieebek Kasteel’s sole wine shop, The Wine Kollective (be sure to pop in and pick up a few