Flagstone Wines

Flagstone Wines was founded in 1998 by Bruce Jack, a winemaker who studied English literature at St Andrew's in Scotland before turning to oenology at Roseworthy College in Australia. The combination of literary imagination and technical rigour would define everything Flagstone became. From his maiden 1999 vintage, Bruce's wines carried names that told stories — Dark Horse, Writer's Block, Dragon Tree, Noon Gun — each label an invitation to look beyond the glass and into the narrative behind the wine.

The winery operates from a historic 1901 dynamite factory in Somerset West, originally built by Cecil Rhodes. The industrial bones of the building — thick walls, high ceilings, raw character — proved ideal for a winemaker who approached his craft with an unconventional spirit. Where other producers chose a single vineyard or region, Bruce sourced fruit from across the Western Cape, blending parcels from Stellenbosch, Elgin, Darling, and the Swartland to create wines of complexity and storytelling ambition.

Flagstone's breakthrough came quickly. The Dark Horse Shiraz was named among the Top 12 Shiraz wines in South Africa by the Shiraz SA Challenge. The Writer's Block Pinotage earned consistent recognition in Platter's and international competitions. The Noon Gun white blend and Dragon Tree Cape Blend both won Double Gold at the Ultra Value Wine Challenge. These were wines that delivered quality and character at accessible price points — a philosophy that built Flagstone a loyal following in South Africa and export markets.

In 2008, Bruce Jack sold Flagstone to Constellation Brands, which later became part of Accolade Wines. Bruce departed in 2018 to pursue his own projects, but the Flagstone brand continues under the Accolade umbrella, maintaining the storytelling identity and multi-origin blending approach he established. The winery holds both Fairtrade accreditation and Fairtrade Tourism certification, reflecting an ongoing commitment to ethical production.

The tasting room in the old dynamite factory is dog-friendly and wheelchair accessible, with an outside terrace and cheese platters available. The setting is architecturally unique — somewhere between industrial heritage and wine country charm. A wine club membership programme offers direct access to new releases and limited editions.

The multi-origin approach sets Flagstone apart from most Cape producers. Rather than championing a single terroir, the winemaking team draws on the diversity of the Western Cape — the cool maritime influence of Elgin for Sauvignon Blanc, the warm Swartland slopes for Shiraz, the structured reds of Stellenbosch for Cabernet blends. This patchwork philosophy allows each wine to be assembled from the best available fruit across a given vintage, creating consistency and complexity that single-estate producers sometimes struggle to match.

Flagstone is proof that great wine can come with a great story — and that a dynamite factory in Somerset West is as good a place as any to tell it.