Vilafonté

South Africa and California meet at Vilafonté. Here, the founders Mike Ratcliffe, Zelma Long and Phil Freese have fulfilled their dream of being able to produce wines at world level.

Vilafonté - three names, one goal

The Vilafonté estate is located at the foot of the Simonsberg in South Africa. It was founded in 1997 and today comprises 42 hectares of land. While Mike looks after the day-to-day business and takes care of the marketing of the wines, Zelma is in the cellar and supervises the production of the house wines. Phil, on the other hand, takes care of the vineyards. All three partners had already gained a lot of experience on other wineries before Vilafonté, which serves the estate today.

Old earth on the estate

The soils of Vilafonté are some of the oldest in existence today. The area has never been covered by glaciers, there has been no volcanic activity or alluvial sediments deposited by water. Thus, they can be dated back to an age between 1.4 and 1.9 million years.

In addition, the maritime influence of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans cools the property, creating a climate comparable to the Mediterraneum. The wet winters provide the water needed to survive the long, dry summers.

Two halves - two styles

After testing the soils of Vilafonté, four grape varieties have emerged which harmonise particularly well with them:

• Cabernet Sauvignon
• Cabernet Franc
• Merlot
• Malbec

Zelma Long noticed early on that the Vilafonté vineyard could be divided into two halves, based on the wines it produced. One half produces soft, round and fruity wines, while the other produces more powerful, structured wines. This led to the creation of the Series C and Series M.