Wildeberg

South Africa

Franschhoek has been making wine for 350 years, so it takes something a little unusual to still find fresh ground. Wildeberg found it on a high, wild slope above the valley, on a former equestrian farm that had never seen a vine before it was planted in recent years. That's rare in a region this storied, and it means Wildeberg is working with genuinely new terroir rather than inherited vineyards. The wines are made by JD Rossouw, who grew up surrounded by Franschhoek's oldest vineyards and clearly absorbed something from them, working alongside the more experienced Ryno Booysen. It's a small team by design, and that shows in the focus of what they make: terroir-driven wines from the broader Coastal region, built around a clear idea rather than a long list of labels. Wildeberg calls itself a wild mountain winery, founded by a group of idealists rather than an investment fund with a marketing plan, and that comes through in the wines themselves. The flagship range, Coterie, takes its name from the idea of a circle of friends with shared interests, which fits a small operation making wine on its own terms. Within that range sits a Chenin Blanc and Grenache Blanc blend and the Meteorique Blanc de Blancs, both wines that lean into Coastal character rather than smoothing it out. We stock Wildeberg because it's a genuinely new chapter in a region we thought we knew well. Franschhoek regulars will find something unexpected here, and anyone curious about where South African wine is heading next has a good place to start. Delivered across the UK, it's an easy way to taste a brand-new corner of an old wine valley.

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The Wildeberg Story

Wildeberg doesn't have centuries of history behind it, and that's rather the point. The estate sits on a wild slope above the Franschhoek valley that was, until recently, an equestrian farm rather than a vineyard, something almost unheard of in a valley that has grown grapes for 350 years. Establishing vines here meant starting from nothing, with no inherited rows or old cellar traditions to lean on.

The estate was founded by a small group of idealists who wanted to make wine on their own terms, choosing this untouched mountain site specifically because it hadn't been shaped by generations of farming decisions. That freedom to start fresh is unusual in a region as established as Franschhoek, and it gave the founding team room to plant and build around their own idea of what the site could become.

JD Rossouw took on the winemaking, bringing an understanding of the valley's old vineyards from his upbringing among them, and paired that knowledge with Ryno Booysen's experience to shape the estate's early style. Together they built a compact operation focused on wines that speak clearly of the Coastal region rather than chasing a broad portfolio.

The Coterie range, named for the idea of a circle of friends with shared interests, became the estate's calling card early on, anchored by a Chenin Blanc and Grenache Blanc blend and the Meteorique Blanc de Blancs. Both wines carry Wine of Origin Coastal or Franschhoek status, tying them firmly to the ground they were planted on.

It's still early days for Wildeberg, and that's exactly why it's worth watching. A new estate on an untouched slope, made by people who grew up in the valley next door, is a rare thing in a region this old.

Winemaking Philosophy

Wildeberg starts from an unusual position: this is vine-growing territory that's never been vine-growing territory before. The slopes above Franschhoek have spent centuries as an equestrian farm, so when the estate's founders looked at this wild, high ground, they weren't inheriting old vineyard wisdom. They were starting from scratch, on a mountainside most people would have considered too rugged to bother with.

That blank slate shapes everything. JD Rossouw, who grew up surrounded by Franschhoek's oldest vineyards, leads the winemaking alongside Ryno Booysen, and together they've approached the site less like inheritors and more like explorers. The aim isn't to impose a house style on the fruit, but to let this particular slice of the Coastal region speak for itself, whatever that turns out to sound like.

You can taste that philosophy in the Coterie range, a name that translates roughly as a circle of friends with shared interests. Rather than chasing a single signature grape, Wildeberg blends varieties like Chenin Blanc and Grenache Blanc together, and builds a Blanc de Blancs style wine, all designed to reflect the Coastal region broadly rather than one narrow appellation story.

There's something refreshingly unpretentious about a winery that describes itself as wild and mountain-born rather than polished and prestigious. Wildeberg isn't trying to recreate Franschhoek's 350-year history. It's asking what this specific, untamed piece of mountain wants to become, one vintage at a time.