Piekenierskloof Wines

In the remote mountain pass north of Citrusdal, where the Cape's Mediterranean climate gives way to semi-arid heat, some of South Africa's oldest and most remarkable vineyards cling to the rocky slopes. Piekenierskloof Wines — formerly the Citrusdal Cooperative — is the custodian of these heritage vines, many over sixty years old, ungrafted, unirrigated, and trained as bush vines in the ancient dryland tradition.

The story begins in 1923, when Johan Abraham van Zyl and his wife Wilhelmina settled in the Piekenierskloof area. By the 1950s, a community of farmers had established enough plantings to justify a winery, and in 1957 the Citrusdal Cooperative — initially called Goue Vallei Wyne — was founded. In 1962, Carel van Zyl planted some of the first Grenache vineyards in the area, establishing what would become the region's signature variety. That same year, a Chenin Blanc vineyard was planted on the Bergendal farm — it is still producing today.

The cooperative operated quietly for decades until 2007, when Charles Back of Fairview purchased a fifty percent stake and the name was changed to Piekenierskloof Wines. Back's involvement brought international attention, but the real turning point came a decade later when he sold his shares to brothers Oubaas and Potgieter van Zyl — third-generation descendants of the original Johan Abraham van Zyl. The family had come full circle.

Today, cellar master Jaco van Niekerk and winemaker Hendrien Vercueil work with five certified Old Vine wines: the Bergendal Chenin Blanc (planted 1962), the Samson Straw Wine Muscat de Frontignan (1962), the Carel van Zyl Grenache Noir (1973), the Heidedal Cinsault (1976), and the Johan van Zyl Pinotage (1976). Each wine carries the name of the family or farm that planted the vineyard, anchoring the portfolio in local history.

The Six Hats range, named for the six thinking hats of the Cape West Coast, offers accessible everyday wines that reflect the terroir at gentler price points. Across the full portfolio, the hallmark is concentration without heaviness — the product of old, low-yielding bush vines producing small, intensely flavoured berries in the dry mountain heat.

The tasting room in Citrusdal is open seven days a week, and the experience of tasting wines from vines planted over six decades ago is unlike anything else in the Western Cape. Piekenierskloof is not merely a winery — it is a living archive of South African viticultural heritage, and one of the few places in the world where you can taste wine from vines that have been growing, ungrafted and unirrigated, for more than six decades.