The wines of Warwick are the result of an interplay between man, vine, and environment and it is this awareness that leads us to speak of heritage rather than simply history. Heritage is not a record of the past. It is a responsibility carried into the future.
What stands here today is inherited. And what is inherited must be nurtured.
That philosophy extends into every decision made on our Stellenbosch estate. Cover crops are sown to restore soil structure naturally and sustain the microbial activity on which healthy vines depend. Rootstocks are selected with water stress in mind, chosen for their resilience in conditions that demand conservation rather than consumption. The road network across the property is engineered to work with the landscape - channelling rainwater towards the dam, preventing surface runoff that erodes soil. Water is treated here as the finite resource it is. In the Western Cape, there is no other responsible position.
Where other farms reach for insecticides, we employ natural predators. From specific beneficial insects such as Anagyrus, C. perminutus and Cryptolaemus to owls and raptors, each has a role to play in a system that balances itself. It is a slower approach, and a more demanding one, but it asks less of the land and gives more back to it.
This land has been farmed since 1771. The obligation that comes with that is not lost on us.
