While high-end wine farms are a bit slow to sell these days, boutique wine farms are experiencing high demand, especially to around the R30 million price mark.
This is according to Kevin Layden, Seeff agent for farms in the Stellenbosch and Boland, who says that boutique wine farms tend to limit financial exposure, hence the higher demand. There is, however, limited availability in the Stellenbosch area, but buyers and investors can find more stock in the Paarl and Wellington region. Interest is coming from local and international buyers.
Generally, boutique farms are selling in the R20 million to R40 million range and commercial wine farms in the R50 million to R75 million range. Top-end wine brands on the market range from around R100 million to R250 million, but at this end of the market they are not actively promoted and marketed, but sold on a confidential basis, says Layden.
South Africa’s wine farms continue to attract tourism from across the country and globe. There are about 560 wine farms in the Cape and about 20 tourist wine routes, and these continue to grow.
He says most of the farms have wine tasting and tourist facilities, and some also offer accommodation. Some of the best restaurants in the country are also located on the wine farm such as Babel (housed in an old Cow shed) at Babylonstoren which is booked up well in advance and Pierneef à La Motte at La Motte where you can see a collection of Pierneef’s art.
He says the most recent wine farms sold include:
1. Knorhoek (Stellenbosch) for R94 million
2. Uitkyk (Klapmuts/Paarl) - a 590ha farm sold for R91.164 million
3. Warwick (Stellenbosch) - a 109ha farm sold for R80 million
4. Le Bonheur (Klapmuts/Paarl) - R55 million
5. L’Avenir (Klapmuts/Paarl) - R40.45 million
6. Lievland (Klapmuts/Paarl) - R35 million
7. Pink Valley (Helderberg Rural, near Somerset West) - R34 million
8. Stellenzicht (Stellenbosch) - amount not disclosed
Nelia Retief, from Seeff Tulbagh, says the Tulbagh/Witzenberg area is seeing growing demand for wine farms as it offers a slightly lower price point compared to Stellenbosch/Franschhoek/Paarl and as a growing tourist region, there is loads of potential and demand.
There is also rising demand from foreign buyers, especially German buyers, predominantly in the R15 million to R40 million price range.
Tulbagh is a popular wine growing region and home to a number of wineries such as Saronsberg, Montpellier and Theuniskraal. The opportunity to invest in a boutique or commercial wine farm is one that many buyers and investors aspire to, says Retief.
South Africa now boasts around 18 official wine routes and two brandy routes. Vines are planted across the Western Cape, from the Constantia and Durbanville Wine Valleys within the Cape metro to the Somerset West and the Winelands region of Stellenbosch, Franschhoek, Paarl and Wellington, as far as the Riebeek Valley to Bamboes Bay on the West Cape Coast, then up to the Robertson and Montagu areas, down to the Hemel-en-Aarde valley in Hermanus and on to Hartswater in the Northern Cape and Rietrivier in the south-western Free State.
Aside from direct employment and the agricultural sector contributions made by the wine sector, it is also an important tourist product for the country. Samuel Seeff, chairman of the Seeff Property Group says that the Cape Winelands are among the most beautiful wine regions in the world and this is part of why tourists from all over the globe visit South Africa annually.
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