A real place where magic happens
Dragonridge wines are grown and made on Fynbos Estate, about an hour's drive north of Cape Town in the Swartland, near Malmesbury.
Set in a kloof of the Paardeberg, Fynbos Estate has become a favourite destination for those with a love of nature and countryside, comfortable yet simple accommodation and fine quality food and wine.
A grand old Victorian farmhouse and quaint country cottages nestled amongst vineyards, olive groves and mountains, make Fynbos Estate ideal for getaways, workshops, retreats and conferences. Lovely gardens, a pavilion and an old cellar, create a magical setting for weddings, parties, and other functions.
Enjoy some general photos in the gallery below and visit the website for more: www.fynbosestate.co.za
Organic Olives & Lemons
In addition to our natural wines, the farm has approximately 900 olive trees from which we make various olive products. Like the name Dragonridge, our olive oil is particularly potent and quite peppery – made in the European tradition for taste and longevity. Our Extra Virgin Olive Oil is available for sale in the Online Shop.
Our 2 hectares of olive trees are organically farmed and include a range of cultivars: Lecchine, Mission, Coratino, Frantoia, Kalamata and Nocellara del belice. The first four we use for oil, and the last two for eating olives.
From our organically farmed lemon trees, we produce a limited amount of Limoncello which takes some 3 months to make and is delicious as both an aperitif and, with a mixer, a long cooling summer drink. It is available from November onwards – usually for short time- as it is has many fans and tends to get sold out fairly quickly. We make about 50 x 500 ml bottles. We also make Johan’s Lemon cordial and salted lemons, both of which get served to guests visiting the farm.
Simson-Simons Nature Reserve
The Paardeberg is a natural paradise, which we feel passionate about protecting and conserving. To this end, the farm not only forms part of the Paardeberg Conservancy, an initiative set up by some landowners in the area, but in 2013 we became a Contract Nature reserve under the auspices of Cape Nature.
The Simson- Simons Nature Reserve is named after the two brothers: Denis and Gerry Simson (father and uncle to Diana) and Johan’ parents. Jack and Ray (Alexander) Simons.
Fynbos Estate nestles between Dragonridge and Sonkop Peak, both of which form part of the Paardeberg Mountain. The Paardeberg is a granite mountain with an extraordinary mix of unique vegetation, which is a botanist’s heaven. The plants on the mountain include Strandveld (‘coastal plants’), Cape Mountain fynbos (‘fine bush’, which is found only in the Western Cape), and renosterveld (‘rhinoceros bush’, whose dark appearance gives the region its name, Swartland or ‘black land’).