Alto Wine Estate

The story of Alto begins in 1693, when the land was first granted as part of the larger Groenrivier farm on the upper slopes of the Helderberg in Stellenbosch. For more than two centuries the property changed hands and purposes, but in 1919 owner Hennie Malan sold the lower half of Groenrivier to his brother-in-law and kept the elevated remainder for himself. He named it Alto -- Latin for high -- on account of its commanding views across the Stellenbosch flats to Table Mountain, and set about planting red-wine vineyards in earnest with his son Manie.

Manie Malan became the estate's first winemaker and one of the earliest graduates of Stellenbosch University's viticulture and oenology programme. In 1922 he produced the first Alto vintage, a red blend that married the power of Cabernet Sauvignon with the plush fruit of Shiraz and Cinsaut. The wine won top prize at the 1924 Cape Wine Show in the 'Red Wines, Burgundy Type' category, and was exported to London through the Burgoyne's wine-merchant house. When the blend was released to the South African market in 1933 under the name Alto Rouge, it became one of the country's first branded estate reds -- a wine that has been produced without interruption ever since.

For decades Alto operated as a family affair with generation after generation of winemakers refining the Rouge recipe. Piet du Toit served as winemaker from 1959 to 1983, followed by his son Hempies du Toit, who guided Alto through a golden era that included winning the 1993 Vinexpo grand slam in Bordeaux for the 1984 Cabernet Sauvignon -- the only South African wine to claim the honour that year. In 2015, Bertho van der Westhuizen took over as the fifth cellarmaster, emphasising terroir expression and minimal cellar intervention. In 2022, the estate celebrated a milestone few wineries anywhere in the world can match: its 100th consecutive vintage.

Today Alto remains focused exclusively on red wine, producing Alto Rouge, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, the Estate Blend, and the flagship M.P.H.S. -- a Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc blend of extraordinary depth. The Klein Alto restaurant on the estate serves South African cuisine on a terrace with panoramic mountain views, while cellar tours and private tutored tastings offer a window into a century of unbroken winemaking tradition. Alto holds WIETA sustainability accreditation and welcomes cyclists on its trails through the vineyards.