The Legacy of Linton Park Wine Estate in Wellington revealed

The captivating history of Linton Park Wine Estate outside Wellington, thus far described by some as the ‘undiscovered gem of the Cape Winelands’, was formally revealed to the media and some VIP guests at a special event held at the estate on Thursday, 23 February 2017. The event was hosted by Mr Malcolm Perkins, Chairman of the United Kingdom based Camellia Plc group that purchased Linton Park in 1995. Mr Alan Winde, Western Cape Minister of Economic Opportunities, was the guest-of-honour.

A rich legacy

The rich tapestry of the heritage of this picturesque estate at the foot of the Groenberg Mountains dates back to 1699 when Governor Willem Adriaan van der Stel granted De Slange Rivier farm to Louis Fourie, a French Huguenot. The deed, dated 28 February 1699, has been preserved and forms part of the Manor House’s art and antique furniture collection. Fourie not only developed the farm’s agricultural landscape, but planted vineyards and his pioneering winemaking in Wellington were highly regarded. Not unlike numerous other wine farms in South Africa who trace their history to Huguenot founders, Linton Park has a proud and honourable birth right.

A new beginning

Camellia Plc that purchased Linton Park in 1995 is a multinational and global business group, listed on the London Stock Exchange. The group employs over 76 000 people worldwide. Camellia’s interests include tea gardens, macadamia, citrus, barley, pineapple, almond and avocado plantations in the agriculture and horticulture sectors, private banking and financial services, food storage and distribution and engineering.

Berenice Barker, Marketing and Sales Director, describes the estate and its attributes as follows:

Our Vineyards

Of the estate’s 37 vineyard blocks, 27 are currently planted and range in altitude from 200m to over 550m. A variety of soils are encountered with the predominant ones being Oakleaf and deep Tukulu through to fertile Clovelly. We are currently undertaking an extensive replanting programme of approximately 6 hectares per year.

A total of 70ha currently of the estate’s entire 294ha is planted to vine with a five-year plan of reaching 100ha. The vines are all grafted rootstock and are planted as trellised and bush vine. Integrated Production of Wine practices are adhered to and Linton Park is WIETA certified. We are underway with a comprehensive eradication programme of alien tree species and whilst this is a long-term project, we already see an increase of water run-off into our dams.

The gradient of the slopes affords the vineyards longer sunlight hours that in turn result in optimal ripeness at harvest. Farming is done in harmony with nature using proven biological principles to reduce dependence on chemical sprays.

Our Cellars and Wines

Our winemaking facilities are housed in a building that was originally constructed in 1921, and within the Cellar we have original cement tanks dating back to 1925. Camellia Plc also restored the neglected Cellar in 1995 with the property’s purchase.

As part of the current 2016/7 cellar expansion project, the tanks will be converted into open top fermenters. This project will not only increase the cellar’s capacity but also modernise it considerably whilst preserving a part of our legacy.

Our winemaking team values that quality wines begin in the vineyard and as such practice minimal intervention techniques to maintain the fruit expression of the grape varietals.

Caring for our Environment and People

The eradication of alien trees and in particular the blue gum is being conducted responsibly so as not to cause soil erosion yet ensure the total suppression of any possible regrowth. Given that bees use these trees as forage plants to provide nectar and pollen, as we eradicate we develop beehives in the mountains to offer the bees an alternative resource.

Wastewater from the Cellar is filtered through to a reed bed programme to be recycled. The clarified water is pumped back to one of our five dams to be utilised as irrigation water. Several other projects have been embarked on amongst them planting of olive trees as a tally to lower our carbon footprint.

Our holding company, Camellia Plc, mandates that we see ourselves as custodians holding our business for future generations.

We are committed to the ultimate welfare of our employees and also to the communities in which they live. And to this end, we are engaged with several socially responsible upliftment programmes, green and sustainable farming and cellar management that ensure that the environment and our people are taken care of and respected.

For more information visit our website