Our story
Be part of the Old, be ready for the New
Boland Cellar was founded by nine visionary farmers from the Paarl area who believed that by working together, they could make better wine and help build South Africa’s growing wine industry.
That same belief still drives us today. By working together, we continue to move forward.
This Is Our Boland
Boland Cellar was founded by nine visionary farmers from our region who believed that by working together they could make better wine, collaborate by sharing best viticultural and farming practises and help to build South Africa’s then growing wine industry. This same belief drives us to this day. We are the sum of all the parts that make up the Boland.
We source wine and grapes from across our diverse wine growing regions which stretch from Stellenbosch in the south, Paarl in the centre, Pederberg to the west, and the Swartland and Darling districts in the north. Each area lends its own character and terroir to our wines providing us with an outstanding array of wine flavours from which our award winning winemaking team craft our wines.
85 Years of Boland Cellar
1680
The Boland has a long history of wine production. It all started in the 1680s when a few French Huguenots began to settle at the small trading outpost in Paarl. What they found here were the perfect conditions to start growing and nurturing a rich winemaking tradition in the region.
1720
The town of Paarl was formally established and quickly developed into an important agricultural centre in the Cape. Vineyards expanded across the fertile valley along the Berg River, laying the foundation for the region’s long association with wine.
1800s
Throughout the nineteenth century, vineyards spread across the Boland as farming families planted vines on the slopes of Paarl Mountain and the surrounding valleys. Winegrowing became a central part of the region’s rural economy, with grapes supplied to merchants and early Cape wine cellars.
1918
In response to severe wine surpluses and falling prices, growers formed the KWV on 8 January 1918. The cooperative would go on to regulate production, stabilise prices and shape the development of the South African wine industry for decades.
1941
That’s when nine bold farmers from the Paarl area, determined to continue their collaboration, decided to head out on their own and took the courageous step of forming their own winery on 17 June 1941. Today, that winery is known as Boland Cellar.
1994
With South Africa’s first democratic elections, international sanctions were lifted and export markets reopened to the country’s wines. Producers across the Cape, including Boland Cellar, entered a new era of global trade and renewed international recognition.
2001
Boland Cellar reached a defining moment on the international stage when Cellar Master Altus le Roux was awarded the Robert Mondavi Trophy for International Winemaker of the Year at the International Wine and Spirit Competition in London. In the same year, Boland Cellar also received trophies for Best South African Producer, Best Cabernet Sauvignon and Best Shiraz.
Today
Boland Cellar was established because local farmers understood that by working together, we could create better wine, and build South Africa’s burgeoning wine industry in a way that none of us could do alone. Collaboration is at the very heart of what we do, and it has led us to become an internationally-recognised, award-winning wine producer.
