Tokara Wine Estate

At the crest of the Helshoogte Pass, where the road between Stellenbosch and Franschhoek crests the Simonsberg mountain range, Tokara commands one of the most dramatic views in the Cape Winelands. On a clear day, the panorama stretches from the vine-covered slopes of the Banghoek Valley all the way to False Bay — a view that first captivated banker and businessman GT Ferreira when he purchased the property in 1994 as a family home.

Ferreira had no plans to make wine. But the land had other ideas. The farm — originally listed in seventeenth-century records as a nameless property, "the farm with no name" — sat on prime Simonsberg terroir at the meeting point of multiple soil types and elevations. By 1999, Ferreira had made the decision to plant vines and enter the wine industry. He named the venture Tokara, an amalgamation of his children's names: Thomas and Kara.

To launch the project, Ferreira recruited Miles Mossop, one of the most talented young winemakers in the Cape, who came on board in 2000 to oversee the first harvests. The early wines were released under the Zondernaam label — "without a name," a nod to the property's archival origins — while the young vines matured. Mossop led the cellar for eighteen years, establishing Tokara's reputation for precision and site expression before departing in 2018 to focus on his own label. Stuart Botha, who had been with the estate since its inception in 2000, stepped into the winemaker role and has since sharpened Tokara's focus on terroir-driven precision. Under Botha, Tokara has earned Winery of the Year recognition, multiple Platter's 5-star ratings, and a historic Dubourdieu Trophy for Sauvignon Blanc.

The wine portfolio is structured in three tiers. The standard collection blends fruit from multiple vineyard sites across Stellenbosch and the estate's Elgin property. The Reserve collection showcases single-vineyard expressions — Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Reserve Syrah, Reserve Chardonnay, and the celebrated Reserve Sauvignon Blanc sourced from cool-climate Elgin vineyards. At the summit, the Director's Reserve Red and Director's Reserve White represent the finest parcels of each vintage, selected by Botha as the definitive expression of Tokara's terroir.

Wine is only part of the Tokara story. Anne-Marie Ferreira, GT's wife, planted famed Tuscan olive cultivars — Frantoio, Coratina, Leccino, and Mission — across more than 22 hectares of the estate beginning in 2000. Today she manages the Olive Shed, producing award-winning single-varietal and premium extra virgin olive oils that have become a destination product in their own right. The estate also produces a ten-year-old XO Potstill Brandy.

Dining at Tokara matches the ambition of the cellar. Tokara Restaurant, led by chef Carolize Coetzee, serves contemporary South African cuisine inspired by local farm produce and the surrounding countryside, paired with estate wines against those sweeping Helshoogte views. The Tokara Delicatessen offers a more casual, family-friendly alternative for breakfast and lunch, with fresh farm produce, olive products, and excellent coffee.

The estate's modern architecture — a striking, minimalist cellar designed to work with gravity-fed winemaking — houses both an art gallery and tasting room. Guided cellar tours, private tutored tastings, and a children's play area make Tokara as welcoming to families as it is to serious wine collectors. It is an estate built on the belief that great wine, great food, and great art belong together — and that the view from the top of the Helshoogte Pass is worth the climb.