The Roberston valley boasts a number of well-loved and quality estates, but one of the most prominent must surely be Springfield Estate. The Bruwer family are fourth generation wine farmers and ninth generation descendants of French Huguenots. The current owners are brother-and-sister team Abrie and Jeannette Bruwer. Their hands-on and involved philosophy towards wine-making ensures each wine is crafted uniquely and in the most natural way possible.

The estate comprises approximately 330 acres of vineyard. Soils are lime-rich and range from extremely rocky to clay, with sandy soil next to the Breede River where vineyards are protected against floods by low dikes. The climate in this area can be harsh and extreme. The southeaster blows the ocean air in from the Atlantic over 60 miles away and this produces variable summer temperatures of around 99 ºF during the day to 60 ºF and below at night. The lower lying vines, such as those in the Sauvignon Blanc vineyards, are prone to frost during the growing period and a low annual rainfall of around 8 inches means that controlled irrigation is essential to relieve grape stress. Sustainable grape growing techniques apply with a minimum of chemical intervention and high usage of natural and systemic methods.

Minimal intervention is the bottom line and the winemaking process is kept as simple as possible. Fermentation is left to the natural yeasts and fining and filtering is reserved for use only where necessary. Apart from the simple approach, specialization is the other key word at Springfield. Each wine is grown on its own site-specific terroir, ensuring each varietal reflects it’s true and natural potential.