Lourensford Estate is one of the world’s most beautiful wine estates, with the Hottentots Holland and Helderberg mountains framing 4 000 hectares of land. Of the 4000 hectares, 1200 hectares is Fynbos with farmed Proteas, forestry, fruit orchards and vineyards making up the remainder. No wonder this idyllic spot is home to the majestic Cape Leopard (Panthera pardus pardus).

Lourensford Estate was once part of neighbouring Vergelegen, which was established by Willem Adriaan van der Stel in 1709.The Estate has a proud history as a world class fruit farm and the winemaking tradition was revived when Dr Christo Wiese purchased Lourensford in 1998. The earliest traces of human activity in the Hottentots Holland Valley are to be found at Grootnek and Uitzicht, two locations deep in the heart of Lourensford Estate. The Uitzicht stoneage midden has early and middle stoneage artifacts (150 000 – 200 000 years BC) that are leached out of the soil by winter rains.

The estate has well over 100 bird species and 300 species of plants and trees have so far been recorded with surveys and updating of mammal, reptile and amphibian species lists happening on an ongoing basis. A WWF Conservation Champion since 2006, their efforts are recognized by WWF’s Conservation Champion Programme (previously the Biodiversity and Wine Initiative) and by the Nedbank Green Wine Awards.

The source of the Lourens River and its pristine upper reaches lie on the farm; of all the rivers in South Africa, the Lourens River is the only to be declared a Protected Natural Environment.