Kaapzicht Wine Estate

The farm that would become Kaapzicht was first mentioned in records dating to 1712, but it was not until the Steytler family arrived in 1946 that its identity as a wine estate began to take shape. The property sits high on the slopes of the Bottelary Hills, and the name Kaapzicht — meaning 'view of the Cape' — describes exactly what you see from the tasting room: a panorama stretching across the Cape Flats to Table Mountain and the distant Atlantic. It is one of the most commanding vineyard views in Stellenbosch.

The Steytlers were farmers first and winemakers second. For decades they sold their grapes to the local cooperative. But in 1984, convinced that the quality of their fruit deserved its own expression, the family decided to bottle wine under the Kaapzicht label. It was a decision that would eventually change the reputation of the Bottelary Hills and put a South African grape variety on the world stage.

That variety was Pinotage. Professor Abraham Perold created the crossing of Pinot Noir and Cinsault at Stellenbosch University in 1925, but it remained a curiosity for decades. The Steytlers were among the first to plant it commercially, and Danie Steytler Sr devoted his career to mastering it. His patience was rewarded spectacularly in 2006, when the Steytler Pinotage won Decanter magazine's Best Red Wine in the World — a watershed moment for both the estate and for Pinotage as a variety. It was proof that in the right hands, on the right soils, this uniquely South African grape could compete with the finest reds on Earth.

Today, Kaapzicht is run by the fourth generation: Danie Steytler Jr and his wife Carin. Working with vines planted by his great-grandfather, Danie Jr blends tradition with modern innovation, maintaining the estate's position as one of South Africa's top two Pinotage producers. The portfolio is organised into four ranges. The Family Range offers fun, everyday wines for sharing. The Terroir Range expresses the specific character of individual vineyard blocks — each wine named for a piece of the farm's geography or daily life: Sonsteen, Kliprug, Skuinsberg, Suidooster, Rooiland, Skemerlig. The Steytler Range is the pinnacle: the Steytler Pinotage, the Steytler Pentagon, and the Steytler Vision — a Cape Blend of 51% Pinotage, 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 1% Merlot that captures the family's ambition to produce the ultimate expression of Bottelary terroir.

A Speciality Range rounds out the portfolio with a Cabernet Franc and a remarkable 20-Year-Old Cape Brandy.

The tasting room is intimate and unpretentious, reflecting the family's philosophy that wine should be about connection, not ceremony. Cheese and charcuterie platters accompany tastings. Guided cellar tours are available. There is no restaurant, no hotel, no spectacle — just four generations of a family making wine from land they know better than anyone, and a view of the Cape that explains the name.