Bellevue Wine Estate in Stellenbosch, Western Cape

The farm was first acquired by Christoffel Groenewald in 1701, but its name was only changed in 1851 to Bellevue. The Morkel family have owned it for generations since 1861 and this is evident in their wines. In the 1950’s, P.K. Morkel is the man responsible making Bellevue a part of Pinotage history. He boldly went about planting a new variety of pinot noir crossed with hermitage on the farm. In 1959 Pinotage was still unknown, but it was awarded the General Smuts Trophy for the best wine on the Cape Wine Show.

When visiting the estate, you’ll see the restored Cape Dutch homestead first built in 1803. It was restored by Bellevue’s current owner Morkel and has been declared a National Monument. In front of this homestead, is a signal cannon once to fire in attack against the French and the British and resounded for the final time when South Africa obtained its independence from the British Empire. The farm is traditional and full bodied like its wine and known to be one of the best farms for Pinotage in South Africa. They are home to a modern quality-driven cellar and Dirkie Morkel is the viticulturist to coax great wines from the cellar. You can enjoy a horse riding on the farm and some of the wines are named after some of their horses.

To view more wine estates in the region see Bottelary Hills Wine Estates or see South Africa Wine Estates for a general overview and links to other wine producing regions.