Newton Johnson Vineyards is owned and managed by the Newton Johnson family. The farm is based in the upper Hemel en Aarde Valley near the seaside town of Hermanus, an hour and a half’s drive out of Cape Town. This is a popular tourist destination, famous for some of the most spectacular land-based whale watching in the world lush indigenous fynbos, a floral kingdom, home to 1500 species and exclusive to the Cape, mountain walks and bike trails.

Led by Dave, a Cape Wine Master with a thesis on Pinot Noir, and his wife, Felicity (nee Newton), the Newton Johnson family moved to the Upper Hemel en Aarde Valley in 1995, built a cellar and started planting vines shortly thereafter. This enthusiasm for wine and Pinot noir in particular, was passed on to and eagerly adopted by his sons, Bevan and Gordon. They in turn have taken this family cellar and vineyards to new heights in exploring the nuances of this grape and their vineyards.

The Hemel-en-Aarde Valley has seen an explosion of quality Pinot Noir over the last decade, and we believe it to be capable of producing wines of world renowned authenticity. Our focus is ever more on perfecting techniques in the vineyard and cellar that resonate the best of our conditions. The sloped vineyards face the southern winds of the cold Atlantic which couple freshness with the linearity and florals produced in the wines by our granite soils. It is a discovery of this translation from our farm that encourages us to make wines free from the distortion of modern convention and convenience, wines with purity of flavour and natural expression.

The Rhone Red Blend is often known as the GSM blend whereby the three main grapes are Grenache, Syrah and Mouvèdre. In actuality there can be up to 13 grapes made into this blend, by law, in the southern Rhone Valley. You can have lighter and more floral versions of the Rhone Red Blend or have bolder and oakier versions depending where in the world it is made. They are most popular in France, California and Australia.