At the Southerly point of Africa, along the Cape South Coast is the coolest wine region, Elgin. Overlooking the Atlantic Ocean at an altitude of 450m along the Southern ridge lies the unique Iona vineyards surrounded by the Unesco certified Kogelberg Biosphere.
IONA HAS THE HIGHEST WINERY IN ELGIN AND THE COOLEST GROWING SEASON VINEYARDS IN SOUTH AFRICA.
A unique phenomenon happens at Iona. The combination of the short distance from the freezing Atlantic Ocean and the rapid increase in altitude causes the prevailing summer South East wind to roll across the vines, forming misty clouds that blanket the farm on warm days.
This protects the grapes from the African sun – allowing filtered sunlight into the canopy – resulting in SLOW RIPENING WITH PERFECT ACIDITY, MODERATE ALCOHOL AND BEAUTIFULLY DEVELOPED FLAVOURS.
Our permanent weather station confirms we are WINKLER 2 with a few notable advantages:
HALF THE RAINFALL of Burgundy in the growing season.
A relatively warm spring and autumn with no frost, reliable budding and A LONGER RIPENING PERIOD FROM FLOWERING TO HARVESTING.
No more than 30 hours above 30° in any growing season. The VINES NEVER SHUT DOWN due to high temperatures.
We own and farm all our vineyards as we believe GREAT WINES are grown in the vineyard.
Composting, physical weed removal, use of beneficial insects and bacteria, raptor poles, vine collars, cover crops between the rows and ground covers below the vines are some of the SUSTAINABLE TECHNIQUES WE EMPLOY AT IONA.
THE WINEMAKER IS THE CUSTODIAN OF THE FRUIT
Iona is planted to Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. We have invested in state of the art equipment such as the latest WILLMES PRESS, BUCHER DELTA OSCILLYS DE-STEMMER. A deep trust in the way we farm, lends us to adopt natural winemaking practices in the cellar with minimum use of sulphur, commercial yeasts, enzymes and filtration. We aim to make WINES THAT PORTRAY THE UNIQUENESS OF EACH VINTAGE celebrating a true sense of place without over playing the winemaking hand.
THE WINEMAKER IS THE CUSTODIAN OF THE FRUIT
Iona is planted to Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. We have invested in state of the art equipment such as the latest WILLMES PRESS, BUCHER DELTA OSCILLYS DE-STEMMER. A deep trust in the way we farm, lends us to adopt natural winemaking practices in the cellar with minimum use of sulphur, commercial yeasts, enzymes and filtration. We aim to make WINES THAT PORTRAY THE UNIQUENESS OF EACH VINTAGE celebrating a true sense of place without over playing the winemaking hand.
The term “Monopole” celebrates the fact that Iona wines are produced from grapes grown in the VINEYARDS WHICH WE OWN EXCLUSIVELY.
We don’t sell or buy in grapes.