Vilafonte
Vilafonté is the first American and South African joint wine-making venture within the global wine community. The Vilafonté philosophy embodies an obsession with quality, from the soil through to the bottle, and an absolute focus on luxury positioning. The name, Vilafonté, derives from the primary soil type of the 100 acre estate, whose character forms the foundation of the wines.
Zelma Long-winemaker, previously chief winemaker at Mondavi in the Napa valley and of Simi in Sonoma County. She spends around 4 months per year at Villafonte overseeing the harvest and the wine making. Phil Freese-winegrower for villafonte-13 years with Mondavi as VP of wine growing and the designer of the first Opus One vineyards. Now a top international winegrowing consultant counting some of the top Californian wineries as his clients-such as Cakebread and Far Niente. Mike Ratcliffe-Managing partner-a leading light in todays South African wine industry and also CEO of Warwick Estate-(see under producers search on home page)
Located in the Paarl-Simonsberg region on the northern side of the Simonsberg Mountains are the vineyards of Vilafonte-42 hectares in total with the first 12 being planted in 1998 and 1999. The Vilafonte winery is perhaps the most hi-tech, state-of-the-art winery in South Africa intimately designed by Zelma Long for the highly specialised art of luxury boutique wine production. With both major financial and time investment, coupled with hugely experienced individuals focusing on every single detail from the low yields targetted in the vineyards to the final bottling of the wine, it is Vilafontes ambition to be internationally recognised as the first luxury brand wine product from South Africa.
Producer Information
| Established | 1998 |
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| Size | 42 Hectares |
| Website | www.vilafonte.com |
| Vineyards |
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| Wine List | View wines produced by Vilafonte |
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