Rijk's Wine Estate & Guesthouse Tulbagh.

In 1996, Capetonian Neville Dorrington -- a lover of good food and collector of fine wines -- decided with his family to leave the city behind and grow their own wine. They found what they were looking for in the Tulbagh Valley: a stretch of virgin land along the lower slopes of the Witzenberg range, with slopes facing north, south, east, and west, and vertical shale soils that had never been cultivated. The potential for low-yielding, high-quality grapes was immediately apparent.

The Dorrington family named their venture Rijk's Private Cellar, after Rijk Tulbagh, the Governor of the Cape between 1751 and 1771, for whom the town of Tulbagh is itself named. First vines were planted in 1997, and the inaugural harvest followed in 2000.

From the outset, the family made a singular decision that defines Rijk's to this day: they would focus exclusively on two grape varieties -- Chenin Blanc and Pinotage. While most South African estates chase breadth with a dozen or more varietals, Rijk's chose depth, believing that the Tulbagh terroir could produce world-class expressions of these two quintessentially South African grapes. It was a bold gamble, and it has paid off handsomely.

Pierre Wahl joined as winemaker in 2002 and has been instrumental in developing the estate's three-tier portfolio. The Touch of Oak range offers fruit-driven, approachable wines -- the Pinotage aged for eighteen months in a mix of second, third, and fourth-fill French oak. The Private Cellar range steps up to food-friendly complexity. At the top, the Reserve wines represent the finest parcels and longest ageing, produced only in exceptional vintages.

The estate is also a guesthouse, offering accommodation in the tranquil Tulbagh setting, surrounded by three mountain ranges. The on-site restaurant serves cuisine designed to complement the wines, and visitors can taste and purchase the full range at the cellar door, open seven days a week from 07:00 to 22:00.

Tulbagh remains one of the Cape Winelands' best-kept secrets -- less visited than Stellenbosch or Franschhoek, but with soils and microclimates that produce wines of remarkable character. The valley is enclosed by three mountain ranges -- the Witzenberg, Winterhoek, and Obiqua -- creating a distinctive terroir that is both warmer and more continental than the coastal wine regions.

Rijk's is the valley's standard-bearer, proving that two grape varieties, farmed with conviction on the right land, can be more than enough. For visitors willing to drive the extra distance from the Cape Town hub, Rijk's rewards with an unhurried atmosphere, deeply personal wines, and a reminder that South Africa's greatest contributions to the wine world are Chenin Blanc and Pinotage.