Waverley Hills

Waverley Hills is best known for producing organic wines with a unique style, extremely smooth with soft ripe tannins and robust fynbos (garrigue) characteristic. We also produce olives in brine, dried olives and a small amount of olive oil.

The Estate is situated between Tulbagh and Ceres, close to Wolseley, South Africa, at the foothills of the breathtaking Witzenberg Mountain Range. The fertile, yellow clay terrain is impregnated with river stones, resulting in well-drained soils with excellent water holding capacity. All the vineyards are irrigated with pure spring water and are located on a natural watershed area. The area is renowned for its diverse fynbos (indigenous flora), giving our wines a unique herbaceous characteristic.

Wineries and especially their vineyard workers are breathing a sigh of relief as natural techniques replace chemical technology at Waverley Hills. Working with nature produces a set of positive, even unintended results that help produce better wines. Waverley Hills is a unique winery: we are moving away from a system based on inputs of chemicals, to a management-based system of grape-growing, establishing a “green approach” to winemaking.

Waverley Hills wines are organically certified by ECOCERT, based in France, but conducts inspections in over 80 countries making it one of the largest organic certification organizations in the world. They stipulate that no synthetic fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides may be used, in order to protect the environment and to produce grapes and olives as environmentally-friendly and healthy as possible. We fertilise with composts and manures. We use cover crops, such as vetch and legumes, for soil improvement and as host plants for beneficial insects. We also allow some indigenous vegetation to grow in close proximity to the vines. These areas provide food and a natural habitat for the indigenous fauna to flourish, adding a healthy diversity to our vineyard’s eco-system.

We are a WWF Conservation Champion – acknowledged as an environmental leader in the industry for our commitment to conservation, responsible production practices, integrated environmental management systems, and spearheading innovations in water, energy efficiency and climate adaptation. About 20% of the land, including critically endangered veld types such as Breede Shale Renosterveld, Breede Alluvium Fynbos and Breede Shale Fynbos, has been set aside for conservation at Waverley Hills. The indigenous Flora and Fauna are protected, and all alien vegetation is removed from the estate. Natural predators are introduced in the vineyards to combat unfriendly insects and pests. We also have a family of white ducks which make sure that the snails are kept to a minimum.