The San and Khoi peoples inhabited the Cederberg area from early times, leaving behind a rich legacy of rock art. It was only during the mid-1800s that another tough group of people set foot in the Cederberg – the Nieuwoudt family.

The first Nieuwoudts arrived in South Africa during the early 1700s. Nearly 100 years later, their descendants moved to the Cederberg. In 1893 the present family moved to the farm Dwarsrivier, which is also known as Cederberg Private Cellar and Sanddrif Holiday Resort.

Cederberg High-Altitude Wine Production

Six generations ago, no one would have guessed that this rugged, fynbos-covered area on the edge of the Succulent Karoo biome would one day become a high-altitude wine farm in the Cape winelands. The farm itself lies in the Cederberg Wilderness Area and only 66 ha are under vine. Today, this award-winning winery is owned by David Nieuwoudt – proudly fifth generation. Emma, David’s daughter, is the sixth generation.

Many stories have been told about ‘how it all started’. Maybe the first Platter’s guide to South African wines (1980) puts it best: ‘Oom Pollie has confounded the experts by producing prize-winning wines on his farm high in the remote Cederberg Mountains. He first started making wine for the farm workers with table grapes that ripened too late to be taken in by the nearest co-operative. The venture was so successful, he decided to try his hand at making red wine, and the first vintage in 1977, though too small to be certified, was acclaimed by experts as being up to Superior standards’.