Canto Wines

At the start of the Durbanville Wine Route, where Vissershok Road climbs into the rolling hills above Cape Town, a small boutique winery trades volume for character. Canto Wines was born when local owner Marinus Neethling had the opportunity to attain a piece of land in the picturesque Durbanville wine valley. Being an avid wine enthusiast, the quality of the vineyards inspired what stands today as Canto boutique winery. The name Canto -- Italian for "lyric" or "song" -- reflects a philosophy of expression over scale, where each bottle is intended to sing with the individuality of its terroir and the hands that shaped it.

The farm is 18 hectares in size, and its vineyards are unique in that most of the wines come from old, dry-land, low-yielding vines with small production and excellent quality. With cool breezes from the Atlantic Ocean keeping the climate mild, the ripening period is extended, ensuring concentrated flavours in the grapes and resulting in wines with intense fruit. Rainfall is above average and together with deep, well-drained soils with good water retention properties, there is no need to irrigate the vines. Only the best rows of grapes are harvested to produce the Wooded Chardonnay, Merlot, and MCC.

The winemaking focus is deliberately narrow: Methode Cap Classique sparkling wines, still whites, and selected reds. The winery produces four separate MCC bottlings -- a Chardonnay Brut made in the traditional French Methode Champenoise and spent two years on the lees, a Pinot Noir Brut with beautiful salmon colour and rich strawberry and cherry flavours, a Pinot Noir-Chardonnay Brut with elegant bubbles and notes of berries and apple, and a Shiraz Brut that defies convention as a red-grape sparkling wine. Still wines include a Wooded Chardonnay with citrus notes and butteriness, a Sauvignon Blanc showing true regional typicity with gooseberry and melon, a Merlot with notes of oak, violets, plums, and cherry, and a Pinotage with red berries, mocha, and hints of roasted coffee.

The tasting room occupies a beautifully decorated space that feels as though you are having wine in the comfort of your own home -- a deliberate contrast to the formal tasting rooms of larger estates. The signature experience is the MCC and Macaron pairing at R180 per person, matching each sparkling wine with a complementary macaron: pistachio with the Chardonnay MCC, red raspberry with the Shiraz Rose MCC, Turkish delight with the Pinot Noir MCC, and salted caramel with the Pinot Noir/Chardonnay MCC. A Kouture Savoury Wine Pairing at R180 matches still wines with arancini and spring rolls, while a Gin and Tonic Infused Pairing at R160 features the estate's Kukumakranka Gin with artisan tonics and macarons. Still wine tastings offer four wines for R95, and MCC tastings four MCCs for R110.

Canto now also serves pizza Wednesday through Sunday, and offers build-your-own picnics on weekends and public holidays. A minimum R180 deli purchase secures a picnic spot on the lawn, with a variety of cheeses, cold meats, condiments, and macarons available. The large lawn overlooks the Winelands mountains, with room for children to run and play -- and even a cricket pitch. Private functions and events can be arranged with customisable packages.

Open Wednesday through Sunday (closed Monday and Tuesday), with hours from 10h00-18h00 on Fridays and Saturdays and 11h00-17h00 on other days, Canto is a place where the winemaker's instinct matters more than the size of the cellar.