Our Story
The Robertson Wine Valley has the longest unbroken lineage of winemaking and grape-growing families in the country. The De Wet family, producing wine over five generations, embodies this heritage, with South Africa being the oldest ‘New World’ wine-producing country in the world.
Wine has been made on Excelsior Estate for 170 years. It is now the most important crop on the farm, with Excelsior exporting wine to over 20 countries. The USA is our largest market, making Excelsior South Africa’s top exporter to the USA. Excelsior consistently maintains salience, relevance, and intrinsic value in purchasing decisions. Our benchmarks include time, investment, commitment, continuity, and caring for our people.
The farm has 220ha (550 acres) planted with noble cultivars such as Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Shiraz, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon. There are also small plantings of blending cultivars like Petit Verdot, Malbec, and Viognier. Our aim is to produce full-bodied wines that display intense fruit. We achieve this by using strict vineyard practices to ensure a healthy, well-ripened crop. Our grapes are harvested by hand, allowing greater quality control and optimal ripeness. Our low-yielding vines produce very concentrated fruit, resulting in fresh and zesty whites and deep-colored intense reds.
Our weather is moderate, with hot days and cool oceanic breezes in the afternoons and evenings. These temperature fluctuations provide very healthy ‘veraison’ (color change and even ripening). Additionally, we cultivate 45ha (110 acres) of citrus, with 21ha (50 acres) dedicated to an empowerment project for our 80 employees, all of whom live on the estate. As winemaking pioneers in the region, we have introduced innovative practices such as drip irrigation to the South African wine industry. Furthermore, we are 50% solar powered, which is uncommon in the wine industry.
The De Wet family have farmed at Excelsior Estate, in the Robertson wine valley, since 1859 when Koos de Wet settled here and began clearing the veld of the Little Karoo.
Koos de Wet was a direct descendant of Jacobus de Wet, the first member of the family to arrive in South Africa. Jacobus, an official of the Dutch East India Company, landed in Cape Town in 1697 and prioritized planting vines. He bought a large farm in Stellenbosch and earned the distinction of being among the first winemakers in Cape Town and the Southern hemisphere. Most of the de Wet family eventually settled in the Worcester area, but after a family disagreement (he fell in love with his brother’s fiancée!), Koos de Wet moved to the Robertson area and established himself at Excelsior Estate. He later divided his farm between his sons, who went on to breed horses and plant vineyards. The third brother, Jacobus Stephanus (known as Kowie), inherited Excelsior and, in addition to producing wine, quickly became one of the most successful ostrich breeders in the Robertson district.
Ostrich plumes were the essence of haute couture in the early 20th century and big business. At the height of the market, a single ostrich plume sold for £5, enough to buy a passage from Cape Town to London! South African ostrich breeders displayed their newfound affluence in a style of architecture that became known as ‘feather palaces’. Kowie de Wet was no exception and built Excelsior Manor in the Cape Revival style, which has the characteristic elegance of the Victorian era, embellished with Cape Dutch gables. He furnished his new home with ornate European furniture, and the de Wet family enjoyed entertaining and social events linked to the Cape Hunt and Polo Club.
The invention of the motorcar abruptly ended the fashion for ostrich feather millinery; ethereal bonnets and boas were no longer practical and were rapidly replaced by well-tucked-in scarves and tight-fitting hats, which better suited open-top cars. Kowie and his son Oscar shifted their focus to breeding horses and cultivating vines; their quick thinking and good business sense saved Excelsior, and it was one of the few farms not declared insolvent at the time.
