A.A. Badenhorst Family Wines are grown, made and matured on Kalmoesfontein, a farm on the slopes of the Paardeberg in the Swartland, north of Cape Town.
Three generations of the Badenhorst family farmed in Constantia before cousins Adi and Hein Badenhorst recognised the potential of the Swartland. They took on Kalmoesfontein in 2008 — a historic farm in need of considerable attention — restoring a cellar that had stood unused since the 1930s and bringing old, unirrigated bush vines back into production. Many of those vineyards were planted in the 1950s and 60s to Chenin Blanc, Cinsault and Grenache, and are farmed as biologically as possible. Planted across north, east and south-facing slopes, they produce small crops of fruit with real variation in character, which is what gives the wines their depth.
The winemaking follows the same principle. Fruit is handled whole-bunch, fermentation happens naturally, and the wines are made and aged in old concrete kuipe, foudres and older casks rather than new oak. It is a deliberately unhurried, low-intervention approach, and one Adi has been influential in establishing more widely — he was among the founders of the Swartland Independent Producers, the group of growers formed in 2010 around a shared commitment to honest farming and regional expression.
Kalmoesfontein remains, first and foremost, a family farm. Much of the extended Badenhorst family is involved across the vineyards, the kitchen, the cellar and the guest side of the property, alongside farm teams whose knowledge of the land runs deep.
The range spans single-vineyard and old-vine wines, the Kalmoesfontein blends, and a few smaller, more experimental releases. Best known is the Secateurs range — honest, easy-drinking wines for all occasions, with a strong following in South Africa and in export markets. The Secateurs Chenin Blanc was named Best Value White of the Year in Tim Atkin MW’s South Africa Special Report, an unusual result for a wine at that price.
The farm offers pizza nights in season and has beautiful accommodation. Visit their website to learn more.
