Botanica
Founded in 2009 by owner and self-taught winemaker Ginny Povall, an intrepid American who fell in love with the beautiful Cape winelands and purchased Protea Heights farm in Stellenbosch’s Devon. Established in the late 1940s, Protea Heights was the first farm in South Africa to cultivate indigenous protea flowers commercially (South Africa’s national flower). Inspired by this horticultural history, it was only natural that Ginny would choose to develop her wine brands and labels with a botanical flair.
Today the estate boasts eight varieties of proteas (four of which are hybridized species unique to the property), largely destined for export to Europe. The 53 acre farm is planted with 24 acres of indigenous flowers, which bloom throughout the year and 12 acres of organically farmed, high density vineyards. Planted between 2009 and 2010, the estate vines include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Albariño.
The vineyards are positioned primarily on cooler south to southeast facing slopes, at an altitude ranging from 650 to 850 feet above sea level. Cooling afternoon breezes from False Bay provide natural air conditioning for the vineyards during the warm summer months, cooling the temperatures by an average 18+ degrees. The vineyards were converted to organic farming practices in 2014.
South Africa boasts some of the oldest viticultural soils in the world, with an incredible diversity of soil types, often within small areas. On Protea Heights, the vineyard soils are predominantly Oakleaf and Tukulu, both forms of decomposed granite with high clay content. There are also pockets of Dresden, a sandstone-derived soil, characterized by sandy clay loams, and Vilafonte, a gravelly soil derived from shale.
Arboretum is their flagship wine crafted from the fruit of the organically farmed estate vineyards in Devon Valley, Stellenbosch. It is a Bordeaux blend comprised of the best barrels the vintage gives the winemaker. The name celebrates the botanical collection of trees that graces Botanica’s home, Protea Heights Farm. It is a blend of the best barrels the vintage gives the winemaker.
The Mary Delany Collection is crafted from grapes sourced from unique vineyard sites throughout the Cape. Each of the labels depicts a botanical collage created by British artist Mary Delany. These remarkable works of art were hand crafted in the late 1700s using hundreds of tiny pieces of cut paper.
