Hillcrest Estate

Hillcrest Estate sits in the Tygerberg Hills on the outskirts of Durbanville, a boutique winery where wine, olives, and outdoor living converge on one of the most geologically distinctive properties in the region. The olive orchards came first, established in 1993 with two thousand trees across Mission, Frantoio, and Kalamata varieties. The first table olives were processed in 2001, and olive oil production followed shortly after, initially outsourced before the estate invested in its own Oliomo 150 mill to bring everything in-house.

Wine production launched in 2004, and the estate has flourished steadily under the guidance of winemaker Arno Smith. Today Hillcrest vinifies between forty and fifty tons of grapes per year, yielding approximately thirty-three thousand bottles split evenly between white and red varieties. What makes the terroir remarkable is the geology underfoot: the vineyards are strewn with Malmesbury shale, a sedimentary rock formed by magma millions of years ago, lending the wines a distinctive mineral backbone. Afternoon sea breezes from the Atlantic Ocean cool the slopes, placing Hillcrest within one of the prime grape-growing microclimates of the Western Cape.

The wines are released across three ranges. The entry-level Hillcrest Range comprises a Sauvignon Blanc, Rose, and a lightly oaked red blend. The Saartjie Single-Vineyard range showcases site-specific expressions: a Semillon, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, and a standout Petit Verdot, priced around R155 to R165 per bottle. The flagship Atlantic Slopes Range includes The Quarry Merlot, The Hornfels Bordeaux blend, and the Atlantic Slopes Sauvignon Blanc -- wines that reveal the full depth of the Durbanville terroir. Both The Quarry and The Hornfels spend eighteen months in new and second-fill French oak barriques before bottling and a further twelve months of maturation before release.

Beyond the cellar, Hillcrest is a genuine lifestyle estate. Chef Marc Redman leads the Hillcrest Restaurant with a farm-to-table Mediterranean-influenced menu, open for breakfast and lunch during the week and dinner on Fridays and Saturdays, often with live music. The Quarry, a former quarry pit transformed into a beautiful outdoor venue, offers picnicking and catch-and-release fishing in a dramatic natural setting and doubles as a function space. Mountain biking trails wind through the property, and the estate is family-friendly, dog-friendly, and wheelchair accessible -- a rare combination in the Durbanville valley.

Wine, beer, and gin tastings are available in the cellar door, managed by Katrien Volschenk. The tasting experience extends beyond wine to include estate olive oil -- pressed from the same orchards planted in 1993 -- giving visitors a genuine farm-to-table journey across both the cellar and the grove. Only thirty minutes from central Cape Town, Hillcrest occupies a sweet spot between urban convenience and rural escape.