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These lovely Vineyards lie nestled in the foothills of the beautiful Helderberg mountains, where they have been nourished by deep, rich soil and teased by fresh ocean breezes since 1726.
From terroir-specific noble cultivars. Mark Bilton strives to produce a niche range of rare wines. The 1998 maiden vintage of only 100 cases heralded our award winning Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz, all under Bilton's own label.
Bilton's philosophy of continuous innovation and improvement builds on a rich past, reflecting the distinctive character of our land. Wines may be sampled in the spacious tasting room Bilton's historic cellar.
The intriguing history of our estate can be traced back to 1694, when the farm Bonterivier, as it was then known, was granted by Governor Simon van der Stel to Willem Jansz van de Werelt. Today, more than 3 centuries later, the surname of this first owner has taken on a significant new meaning. Van de Werelt means "of the world" and over recent years, the fine wines produced on our progressive estate have indeed become sought-after by wine lovers across the world.
Although not much is known about the early activities on the farm, we do know that the first vines were planted in 1726. An old wine cellar, dated 1824, still graces our estate and has been meticulously restored to serve as an attractive tasting venue.
Our scenic estate takes pride of place in the heart of the Stellenbosch wine region. This is prime red wine country, and the success story of our wines is rooted in the deep, rich soils on the foothills of the Helderberg mountains. During summer, the westerly breezes blowing in from the nearby ocean provide ideal, cool conditions for our grapes to ripen slowly and develop an abundance of varietal flavour.
The estate has been in the hands of the Bilton family since 1959, when Don Bilton bought the land. In 1996, his son Mark assumed the responsibilities for the estate, and employed Adrean Naudé as estate manager. This heralded a comprehensive restructuring of our farming activities and over the next few years, the soil was prepared for a major vineyard replanting programme. In our quest to focus on grape varieties best suited to the terroir, we identified specific slopes, soil and micro-climatic conditions for the planting of our noble cultivars.
The year 1998 introduced an exciting new era in our estate's history. Our Merlot vines yielded such excellent quality that it was decided to produce the wine under our own label. Only 100 cases were bottled under the first ever Bilton label, yet such was the demand for our maiden vintage, that we have since expanded our wine range to also include Cabernet Sauvignon and recently, Shiraz.
Our ultimate dream came to fruition when our new boutique wine cellar, with a capacity of 140 tonnes, was completed in time for the 2002 vintage. With the focus on world-class quality, only our finest wines are bottled under the Bilton label, following lengthy maturation in top quality French, American and Australian oak barrels. To complement our high standards, we import our pristine, blemish-free bottles from France, and use specially selected corks to seal the precious contents.
At Bilton Wines, our belief in the outstanding potential of our land is supported by a philosophy of continuous innovation. This has led to the creation of a niche range of wines, reflecting the distinctive character of our land. Ever since our first vintage, our intensely flavoured, full-bodied wines have reaped an ever-growing list of accolades - locally as well as internationally.
Visitors are welcome to come and taste our wines in the relaxed atmosphere of our historic tasting venue.
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9:00PM
All bookings are commission free