Ask Andy about this wine

South Africa / Western Cape

Established by Catharina Ras in 1682, Steenberg was the Cape’s first wine farm, located only 30 minutes from the heart of Cape Town.

Catharina is certainly one of the most daring and controversial figures ever to settle in the Cape. 1662 was far from being the age of rights for women, but despite seemingly insurmountable challenges, this indomitable lady boarded a sailing ship and made the perilous journey to the furthest tip of Africa. Five husbands later, the Widow Ras procured a portion of ground at the foot of the Ou Kaapse Weg in 1688, to “cultivate, to plough and to sow and also to possess the farm below the stone mountain.” The farm’s original name was ‘Swaaneweide’ – The Feeding Place of Swans. Catharina, mistaking the area’s spur-winged geese for swans!

Today, the estate is owned by Graham Beck and it now has a luxury hotel and two restaurants.

The estate practices environmentally considerate farming via the use of non-toxic, natural formulas of pest control, and the employment of natural predators for help in keeping the grapes as healthy as possible.