Montagu Winery

On 17 March 1941, fifteen farmers in the town of Montagu pooled their resources to form the Montagu Muskadelboere Kooperasie, a cooperative cellar dedicated to the fortified wines that the region's warm Klein Karoo climate produces so well. Under chairman DJ Burger Snr, they purchased premises on Bath Street from PJ Joubert and went into production the following year with Joubert's own staff guiding the first crush of 800 tons. By 1948, growth demanded a larger facility, and under chairman KW Carl du Toit the cooperative acquired its current Cinsaut Street premises, where a new cellar was built under the supervision of wine pioneers Dr Costa and Mr Moni.

It was in this very cellar that the famed Monis Marsala and Moscato methods -- techniques for producing muscadel -- had their origin. These methods, developed in the 1940s, are still used in the same cellar today, making Montagu one of the few places where you can taste a direct link to the earliest days of South African fortified winemaking. The tradition lives on: Montagu's red and white muscadel remain the cellar's calling cards, and the red muscadel has been selected four times for the prestigious Nederburg Wine Auction, where it was described as 'the best wine for the price anywhere in the world.' The cooperative changed its name in 1992 to Montagu Kooperatiewe Wynkelder Bpk, now commonly known as Montagu Winery.

From those initial 15 members and 800 tons of grapes, the cooperative grew to 41 members delivering 16,000 tons by 2017. The range has expanded well beyond muscadel to include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, and sparkling grape juice for non-drinkers, though the sweet wines remain the foundation of the cellar's reputation. The cellar sits on Route 62 -- the world's longest wine route -- roughly 200 kilometres from Cape Town, in the town of Montagu, famous for its hot springs, rock-climbing and heritage Cape architecture.

The tasting room on Cinsaut Street is open seven days a week and welcomes dogs. A fireplace makes winter visits particularly inviting. The cellar holds WIETA sustainability accreditation, reflecting ethical labour practices across its member farms. For visitors driving Route 62, Montagu Winery offers a genuine cooperative experience: affordable wines with deep regional roots, a muscadel tradition stretching back to the 1940s, and the unpretentious warmth of a farming community that has been pooling its harvests for over eighty years.