The remarkable naturalist, ornithologist and explorer William John Burchell (1781 – 1863) noted during one of his many travels up and down this area between 1810 and 1815, that the land here in Plettenberg Bay could be conducive to the production of wine.

Fast-forward nearly 200 years.  Peter Thorpe, who began the wine industry in Plett at Bramon Wine Estate, and after years of explaining his belief in the possibility and rightness of this fledgling industry, discovered, to his delight, that Burchell’s observation was inspired.  The terroir – that is the natural environment in which a particular wine is produced – had good pointers; cool climate, good rainfall, great topography, productive soil, all of which suggested potential. Doubts remained, but then, life is too short to keep pondering …