Eikehof is 58 Hectare Farm in the beautiful Franschhoek Valley. The farm has been in the ownership of the Malherbe family since 1903 and they also made wine on the farm until 1948. In 1992 Francois Malherbe "the fourth generation of Malherbe on the farm" revived the winemaking tradition of Eikehof. Today the farm, nestled among old oak trees, produces 4000 cases of wine in the small well-equipped cellar. He produces a Bush Vine Semillon that is made from 101-year-old vines. This is the flagship of the cellar. At the moment he produces 2 white wines and 3 red wines.

310 Years ago some French Huguenot refugees began arriving in the Cape. These men, mostly skilled farmers, wine-makers and their families, were offered free sea-passage by the Dutch East India Company to help develop the small settlements. They were given land to farm in the Berg River Valley. Their area became known as "The French Corner" or Franschhoek. This is where the history of the Malherbes and winemaking also started in the Cape. Gideon Malherbe, a French Huguenot, arrived in the Cape on 13 April 1688 and was granted the farm "Normandie".

Eikehof is situated 5km from Franschhoek, between the Franschhoek River at 185m and the Wemmershoek Mountain range at 375m above sea level. Eikehof benefits from a variety of soil types, ranging from rich alluvial soil on the banks of the Franschhoek River to sandy soil in the middle and Hutton on the slopes. Noble cultivars grown on Eikehof are Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Semillon, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Shiraz. During summertime there is always a breeze that cools down the valley allowing, slower ripening of the grapes.

We have a very natural approach to winemaking.
We harvest at full ripeness to get the best extracts from the grapes.

We select only 20% of the farms grape production for our cellar. The cellar has a capacity of 72 000 litres. We use a selection of small French and American oak barrels and stainless steel tanks. Our white grapes are whole bunch pressed and the reds are fermented in open tanks and red wine fermenters. During fermentation in the open fermenters, the caps are pushed through by hand on a regular basis.

Historic Interest On-Site: In 2002 the block of Bush Vine Semillon turned a 100 years old. We are still making wine from this block of vineyard.

Cellar Tours: By Appointment Only
Tasting & Sales Hours: By Appointment Only
Accommodation nearby: Oude Jongh Estate Farm Guest House Tel: +27.21 876 4525