Alto Wine Estate

VINEYARDS

Alto Wine Estate originally formed part of the Groenrivier farm on the Helderberg, which was granted for farming in 1693. Vineyard cultivation commenced from the beginning, but the path to vinous greatness only began in 1919 when owner Hennie Malan sold the lower half of the property and named his remaining half Alto.

Since 1919, vineyards focusing on red wine grapes were planted, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Cinsault, Gamay Noir & Pinot Noir.

For over 100 years, we have continued this focused approach of planting red wine only varieties. Our terroir is extremely well suited to red grape vines, and today, the majority of our estate is planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, and Cabernet Franc with small amounts of Merlot and Petit Verdot.

SHOP ONLINE

Stocking up on your favourite Alto wines has never been easier. Simply visit our website to view our curated portfolio of wines.

Our online shop includes our range of five red wines; Alto Rouge 2021, Estate Shiraz 2019 & Cabernet Sauvignon 2019, our award-winning Estate Blend 2022 as well as our renowned M.P.H.S. 2017. We also have a limited selection of older vintage wines, magnums, and gift packs available.

Enjoy free delivery on all orders over R1000.00.
Follow the link to add our award-winning wines to your collection.
www.alto.co.za

AWARD WINNING ESTATE BLEND

We are honoured to announce that our Estate Blend 2022 has been awarded 94 points and Top 10 in the Prescient Signature Red Blend 2024 Report.

This vintage is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Shiraz, and 10% Cabernet Franc. The wine exudes aromas of black-currant, fynbos, and subtle hints of minerality. The palate is complex with flavours of plum, dried fig, and to***co-leaf. Our Estate Blend 2022 is drinking gorgeously now but will age to further degrees of excellence over the next 10 to 15 years.

Congratulations to Bertho and his team on this wonderful achievement!

Follow the to add this award-winning wine to your collection.
www.alto.co.za

LEGACY

Bertho van der Westhuizen is the current winemaker at our estate and took over from his father, Schalk van der Westhuizen, in 2015, making them the second father and son winemaking duo at Alto.

He was born and bred into winemaking with viticulture being in his family for 3 generations. Bertho believes in letting our terroir showcase through our wines and with minimal intervention during the winemaking process he creates wines that not only represent our terroir of excellence but also uphold the high-quality red wines that we are renowned for.

This year, we are releasing our 100th vintage of Alto Rouge. Bertho says that it has been an absolute honour for him and his team to be able to craft such an amazing milestone.
We can not wait for this piece of Alto’s history to be released!

COLLECTABILTY

At Alto, we pride ourselves in producing red wines that have the ability to ages for decades.

Our Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 is our 10-year release and is the perfect example of the ageability of our wines. This exceptional vintage shows a dark, intense plum colour with rich concentrated red fruit, dark chocolate, and a hint of graphite on the nose. The palate is full-bodied with ripe but elegant tannins and a powerful finish. Our Cabernet Sauvignon is drinking beautifully now and is the perfect wine to enjoy over the winter season.

We only have 60 bottles of the Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 available in 750ml and 8 bottles in Magnum.

Visit our online shop and add this phenomenal 10-year release to your collection.
www.alto.co.za

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IN THE CELLAR

Over the past few weeks, our cellar team has been busy in the barrel cellar topping up and filling barrels.

Our components of our iconic Alto Rouge 2024 have been transferred to barrel where they will age in French oak for the next 18 months, Bertho will check on the progress of the wines and take them out of barrel before making up the final blend and bottling.

Barrel aging is an important step in our red winemaking process as it not only adds flavour complexity but also allows the slow intake of oxygen, which helps smooth out the tannins.


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ALTO WINE CLUB

Our wine club is easy to join and has some amazing benefits. Simply follow the link in our bio and sign up using your email address.

By joining the Alto family, you will receive the following exclusive benefits:

🍷15% discount on our current wine range, including free delivery on orders to the value of R1 000 and more.

🍷2 Complimentary Alto wine tastings per couple per year (can only be redeemed after 1 month’s membership)

🍷Exclusive offers on new releases and privileged access to special release vintage wines

🍷Member only products and monthly newsletters.

We look forward to welcoming you to the Alto family

ALTO ROUGE BURGER

Upon visiting our iconic estate and restaurant, the Alto Rouge burger is an absolute must try!

Our head chef, Matthew Delponte, has carefully crafted the Alto Rouge burger to complement and enhance the renowned flavours of our most popular red wine, the Alto Rouge. The burger consists of a homemade beef patty, tomato chili jam, mustard mayo, mozzarella, pickles, and fresh rocket served on a brioche bun with hand-cut fries & crispy onion rings.

Our restaurant is open for lunch from Tuesday to Sunday and for our popular Italian nights every Wednesday and Friday.

Follow the link to reserve your table.
www.alto.co.za

TERROIR

Our iconic estate is situated on the steep, northern slopes of the Helderberg Mountain in Stellenbosch, an area that is renowned for phenomenal red wine production.

Our terroir is very unique. Our vineyards are planted at altitudes ranging from 150m to 500m above sea level, with the highest block only 11km from False Bay. Our proximity to the ocean brings with it a cooling sea breeze that ensures our grapes reach optimum ripeness with rich flavour concentration.

We are proud to produce some of the most celebrated red wines in South Africa that reflect both our terroir of excellence and the complexity of the Stellenbosch region.

SHOP ONLINE

We are the oldest red wine only estate in South Africa and have a small, curated portfolio of wines that encapsulate our heritage and terroir of excellence.

Our portfolio of wines includes our iconic Alto Rouge, our estate Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon, our Flagship Estate Blend, and our limited edition M.P.H.S.

Our online shop also includes a selection of limited release vintage wines, gift packs, and our exclusive Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé.

Visit our website to shop our portfolio of wines.
Alto.co.za

NEW RELEASE

We are excited to announce the release of our Cabernet Sauvignon 2019.

This is our most celebrated cultivar and a true example of a classic Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon. This vintage showcases a powerful presence of dark fruit with hints of fynbos. The palate is laced with rich plum, black-currant, and a firm line of graphite, adding a luxurious dimension to the overall complexity of this wine.

Our Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 was announced as a Top 10 wine in the Wing Mag Prescient Cabernet Sauvignon report 2023 and has been awarded 93 points by both Wine Advocate and Gilbert & Gaillard

This wine is gorgeous to drink now, but as is the case with all of our wines, this Cabernet Sauvignon will mature to greater complexity over the next 10 to 15 years.

Visit our website to add this phenomenal wine to your collection.
www.alto.co.za

EXPERIENCE ALTO

Immerse yourself in the Alto experience this winter by visiting our tasting room and restaurant.

Enjoy a selection of tasting experiences, including our new winter canapé and wine pairing, or simply enjoy a glass or two of our award-winning red wines in front of our fireplace.
Our restaurant’s winter menu showcases rich and flavourful dishes that are guaranteed to keep you warm this winter.

Our tasting room and restaurant is open from Tuesday to Sunday for wine tasting and lunch. Our popular Italian nights are available every Wednesday and Friday evening.

Please note that our estate will now be closed on Mondays for winter. Follow the links in our bio to reserve a table and view our menus.
www.alto.co.za

FATHER’S DAY

Join us this Father’s Day for a delicious lunch menu specially created to celebrate all the wonderful dads.

Enjoy a curated 3-course menu, plus an amuse-bouche and a palate cleanser for R425.00 per person.

Choose between a selection of starters, including our popular Springbok carpaccio or our prawn and mussel dish served with garlic cream and chorizo crumb. For the main course, indulge in our rich and flavourful red wine braised lamb shank, grilled line fish, or a special beef sirloin. To end off a spectacular meal, enjoy a vanilla pod Crème Brûlée or our wholesome brandy date pudding.

Visit our website to view the full menu and reserve your table via Dineplan.

www.alto.co.za

HERITAGE

Schalk van der Westhuizen was the winemaker at Alto from 2001 to 2015. Shortly after his arrival at Alto, Schalk went to work with planting new vines and weeding out the old ones.

During his time on our estate, Schalk produced many exceptional wines, with the main one being our limited release M.P.H.S. which was created to pay tribute to the previous winemakers who have helped pave the way to our success. The M.P.H.S. still exists today and is a true reflection of our terroir as well as the Alto tradition.

Schalk brought his deep and seasoned understanding of winemaking to our estate. He always paid tribute to our terroir and believed that the best compost for the vineyards is the winemakers’ footprints.

GREAT WINES ARE MADE IN THE VINEYARD

Our viticulturist, Danie van Zyl and his team are currently sowing cover crops for the upcoming season. A practice that not only ensures healthy soils but also helps to buffer a farm’s vines against the effects of climate change.

Danie has been the viticulturist on our iconic estate since 2002 and knows the ins and outs of every corner of our farm. The foundation of our success has always been built on our terroir of excellence and the meticulous way the soil and vineyards have been cared for and maintained over the past century.

At Alto, our team in every aspect of the business always strives to achieve the highest possible quality, starting in the vineyards. We sat down with Danie to chat about the importance of cover crops and what is happening our vineyards at the moment.

Follow the link to read the full article.
https://alto.co.za/blogs/news/healthy-soil-makes-healthy-wine-and-alto-has-it-covered

EXCLUSIVE 10-YEAR RELEASE WINES

Collectabilty is one of our main core values at Alto, we are proud to produce wines that have the ability to age for decades.

We are honoured to announce the upcoming release of our 10-year-old wines to our wine club members. We will be releasing carefully selected 2014 vintages of Cabernet Sauvignon and our iconic Alto Rouge in limited quantities on the 28th May 2024.
These wines will only be available to our wine club members on a first come, first serve basis.

Follow the link in our bio to sign up and make sure you receive wine club access to these limited release wines.

https://alto.co.za/pages/wine-club

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY

Wishing all the mothers a Happy Mother’s Day from Alto Wine Estate

We hope that today is filled with love, family, appreciation, and a glass or two of your favourite Alto wine.

We are celebrating with a bottle of our Flagship Estate Blend 2022. This vintage is a blend of our 3 most celebrated varieties, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, and Cabernet Franc. A wine that truly encapsulates our terroir of excellence with rich dark fruit, intoxicating fynbos, and hints of to***co leaf.

Cheers to each and every amazing mom. Thank you for all that you do.

Introducing the 2022 Alto Estate Blend.🍷

Dive into the cool vintage of Alto Estate's Red Blend, which is a harmonious blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, and Cabernet Franc.

Crafted from vineyards nestled on the Helderberg slopes, each sip exudes concentrated elegance while reflecting the nuances of our distinct terroir. With a late start to the growing season and a mild summer, this vintage has incredible fruit concentration and vibrant acidity, promising a refined, elegant journey that will mature gracefully over time.

Find yours here: https://loom.ly/RjgbbPg

Alto Wine Estate