Hazy View

South Africa

Not every wine on our list comes from a single family estate with a name above the cellar door, and Hazy View is a good example of why that's no bad thing. This is a brand built with one job in mind: to bring an honest, easy-drinking taste of the Western Cape to UK tables, without unnecessary complication or a price tag to match. The fruit is sourced from the Cape Coast, mostly from Swartland and Paarl, two regions that know how to ripen grapes properly. Both sit inland enough to get real heat and long, dry summers, but close enough to the Atlantic, around 20 miles away, that cooling evening breezes keep the fruit from turning flabby or over-ripe. It's a balance that Western Cape growers have relied on for generations, and it's exactly why South African whites and reds so often manage to be generous and fresh at the same time. What makes Hazy View distinctive is the restraint in the winemaking. Both wines, a Chenin Blanc and a Pinotage, are vinified entirely in stainless steel, with no oak ageing at all. That's a deliberate choice rather than a shortcut. Without oak in the picture, there's nowhere for the fruit character to hide: the Chenin's orchard fruit and the Pinotage's dark berry, smoky edge come through clean and true to type. These are wines that taste unmistakably of where they're from. We stock Hazy View because it does something genuinely useful: it gives curious UK drinkers a reliable, no-nonsense way into South African wine, without asking them to commit to a big spend or a steep learning curve first. Both wines carry Wine of Origin Western Cape certification, which guarantees the grapes genuinely come from within that region, so you know exactly what you're getting. If you're after a straightforward, fruit-forward Chenin Blanc for a Tuesday night, or a Pinotage that shows what the grape does without any oak dressing it up, Hazy View is worth a look. It's not trying to be a cellar-worthy collector's bottle. It's trying to be a genuinely good glass of South African wine, delivered to your door here in the UK, and on that front it does exactly what it sets out to do.

The Hazy View Story

Hazy View doesn't come with the kind of story you'll find behind many South African labels, no third-generation winemaker, no century-old farmhouse, no family name on the gate. Instead, it was conceived with the UK drinker specifically in mind: a brand designed from the outset to answer a simple question, namely what a straightforward, well-made, everyday South African wine should actually taste like once it lands on a British table.

That starting point shaped every decision that followed. Rather than chasing a single estate's fruit, the focus went on sourcing selected juice from Swartland and Paarl, two areas of the Cape Coast known for ripening classic varieties with real character. The choice of grapes was equally deliberate: Chenin Blanc, the variety South Africa arguably does better than anywhere else in the world, and Pinotage, the country's own homegrown red, found nowhere else on earth.

The winemaking philosophy has stayed consistent since the brand's inception: stainless steel only, no oak ageing. It's a choice that keeps things honest rather than dressed up, letting the fruit and the place speak for themselves rather than layering on vanilla or spice from barrel. For a brand built around approachability and true-to-type flavour, that restraint has become something of a signature.

Today, Hazy View remains focused on those same two wines and the same guiding idea: that South African wine doesn't need to be complicated to be genuinely good. It's less a tale of dynasties and more a story of careful sourcing and a clear sense of purpose, which, for a bottle that's meant to be opened on a Tuesday rather than saved for best, might be exactly the right kind of history to have.

Winemaking Philosophy

Hazy View keeps things simple, and that's deliberate. This is a brand built around one idea: South African wine should taste like South Africa, without unnecessary fuss getting in the way.

The fruit comes from the Swartland and Paarl, warm, sun-baked stretches of the Cape Coast that sit roughly twenty miles inland. It sounds like it should be relentlessly hot, and in some ways it is, but the Atlantic Ocean has other ideas. Cool afternoon breezes roll in off the water and settle over the vineyards, slowing ripening just enough to keep the grapes from turning flabby or over-baked. That balance of warmth and cooling influence is what gives the fruit its character: ripe and generous, but not short on freshness.

In the cellar, the approach is equally straightforward. Both the Chenin Blanc and the Pinotage are vinified entirely in stainless steel, with no oak ageing at all. That's a meaningful choice, not an oversight. Skipping oak means nothing gets in the way of the fruit itself, no vanilla, no toast, no extra tannin from wood. What you get instead is a pure, true-to-type read on each variety: the tropical, honeyed lift of Chenin Blanc, the smoky red-fruit signature of Pinotage.

This is winemaking aimed squarely at enjoyment rather than complexity for its own sake. Everyday wines, made properly, that taste unmistakably of where they're from.