Solms Delta Wine Estate

Fifteen kilometres outside the village of Franschhoek, on land that has been cultivated for more than 320 years, Solms-Delta occupies a singular position in the South African wine landscape. It is a farm where the vines, the history, and the social fabric of the community are treated as equally important -- and where the story of wine is inseparable from the stories of the people who have worked the land across centuries of dispossession, labour, and resilience.

The estate's origins trace to the earliest period of European settlement in the Franschhoek valley, and the property's heritage is presented with unusual transparency. The Museum van de Caab, housed in the farm's original wine cellar dating to 1740, documents not only the French Huguenot and Cape Dutch colonial owners but also -- critically -- a rare and complete record of the farm's slaves, indentured labourers, and descendants of indigenous Khoi communities. This is history told from all sides, and it is the ethical foundation on which Solms-Delta's contemporary identity is built.

Alongside the Museum van de Caab sits the Music van de Caab, an interactive museum dedicated to the history and influences of Cape music, featuring a collection of indigenous musical instruments. A community music programme uses song and dance to build social cohesion among Winelands workers and residents, and Solms-Delta has won the Cape Winelands Social Inclusion Award for its commitment to the cultural welfare of its workforce. In 2005, the Solms family established the Wijn de Caab Trust to benefit the approximately 200 historically disadvantaged residents and employees of the estate.

The wine programme has been reimagined under consultant winemaker Francois Haasbroek, a respected specialist in Rhone varietals. The current range centres on two wines: Hiervandaan, a red blend of Shiraz, Grenache, Cinsaut, and Mourvedre sourced from the schist and granite soils of the Tulbagh Valley and Darling; and Amalie, a white blend of Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, and Viognier from granitic Swartland soils. Both are priced at R199, reflecting the estate's commitment to accessibility alongside quality. The shift toward Rhone-style blending marks a new chapter for Solms-Delta's wine identity.

The farm also offers picnic grounds along the Drakenstein mountains, making it one of the few estates in the Franschhoek valley where visitors can combine heritage, music, wine, and outdoor leisure in a single visit. It is a property with a conscience, and the experience it offers is as layered as its history.