'But if you want to see why Swartland continues to be the go-to region in South Africa, this might well be the best place to start.' - Neal Martin, Vinous

Adi Badenhorst is a farmer first and foremost. In 2007 he bought a dilapidated old winery on the northern side of the Paardeberg Mountain in the Swartland. It was rough around the edges, but with magnificent old vineyards that just needed a bit of love. Since then he and his wife have worked tirelessly to breathe new life into the farm, and today it is one of the most interesting vineyard sites in the area.

Adi's focus is on producing wines that are authentic celebrations of the Swartland and its unique growing conditions. His Family Red and White wines are deliberately designed to give the best expression of 'place', whilst his single-vineyard bottlings hail from small parcels of old vines, each with their own terroir expression. He is also experimenting more with skin contact wines and has recently started producing an approachable orange Chenin/Semillon within his Saceuters range. To taste Adi's wines is to taste the Swartland distilled into a glass. Remarkable and delicious.

Read our interview with Adi, on the blog now.