The Khoisan people, who lived in harmony with the natural environment, inhabited the Cederberg area from early times, leaving behind a rich legacy of rock art. Then, during the mid-1800s, another resilient group of people set foot in the remote Cederberg – the Nieuwoudt family. The first Nieuwoudts arrived in South Africa during the early 1700s. Nearly 100 years later, their descendants moved to the Cederberg. In 1893 the present family moved to the farm Dwarsrivier, which is home to Cederberg Wines.
The estate is situated in a unique climatic zone that can be described as a cool Mediterranean climate rather than a maritime or coastal one. Furthermore, the farm Dwarsrivier is located at the foot of Sneeuberg Mountain, one of the highest peaks in the Western Cape at 2 026m above sea level. Cederberg Wines, thus, lays claim to having the highest vineyards in the Western Cape at between 950m and 1 100m above sea level. Of its total 5 500 hectare, only seventy-four hectare are under vine. The soil types are well-drained on weathered shale/slate on the hillsides and high mountain slopes, with a higher clay content well suited to red cultivars. From the yellow-brown soil of granitic origin to the lightly structured soil with sandstone, Cederberg Wine’s soil types belong to the Bokkeveld and Witteberg groups.
The fifth-generation to farm these pristine lands, David Nieuwoudt has been on an award-winning trajectory since he took over the reins in 1997.