What are “Groenekloof” and “Elgin”?
Groenekloof and Elgin, along with the better-known Stellenbosch, are viticultral area designations that can be found on labels of our wine. Groenekloof and Elgin are more recently developed areas showing good potential for the production of wine. In fact, Neil Ellis Wines has been a pioneer in sourcing quality grapes from these two areas. Elgin is the Cape’s coolest viticultural area (Region I-II on the Winkler system) and has a unique climate and topography, consisting of an upland basin plateau, surrounded by mountain ranges on all sides. This region shows climatic similarities to Burgundy, only slightly cooler by comparison. Elgin tends to show more vintage difference than most other South African viticultural areas. Groenekloof is situated near Darling on the West Coast and here the hills rise to 385 metres above sea level. Vineyards are only 8 km from the cold Southern Atlantic with its cool prevailing southwesterly winds. Soils are deep, red, decomposed granite and produce lively
