Chenin

Organic and sustainable estates

Estates farming organically, biodynamically or regeneratively, or recognised as WWF Conservation Champions. Certification differs from farm to farm.

At a glance

Open on Sundays
7 of 9
Serve lunch
6 of 9
Take walk-ins
1 of 9
Have somewhere to stay
4 of 9
Areas
Helderberg (2), Banghoek (1), Bottelary (1)

9 wineries

The story

Organic and sustainable, explained

Organic, biodynamic, IPW, WIETA, WWF: five labels, five different promises, and none of them is about taste.

Four labels matter on South African wine farms. Organic and biodynamic certification cover how the vineyard is farmed, IPW covers environmental practice in vineyard and cellar, WIETA covers how workers are treated, and WWF Conservation Champion status recognises farms that protect wild land. None of them is a statement about taste.

Organic and biodynamic

South Africa has no national organic standard. Producers who want the word on an export label certify to the rules of the market they sell into, through bodies such as Ecocert or Ceres. Organic certification rules out substances of synthetic origin in the vineyard and sets lower sulphur limits than conventional wine. Certification is costly, so some farms work organically without it.

Biodynamic farming goes further: the farm is treated as a living whole, with natural preparations for the soil and work timed to the phases of the moon. Certification comes from Demeter. Waterkloof turned organic in 2007 and biodynamic in 2008, with biodynamic certification since 2013. Longridge Wine Estate is fully organic and biodynamic, first certified organic in 2015.

Organic and sustainable, explained

IPW and WIETA: the seals on the neck

Integrated Production of Wine (IPW) is the industry's environmental sustainability scheme, set up in 1998; the 2000 vintage was the first certified. Farms, cellars and bottlers are audited and scored, and a cellar that makes and bottles wine needs 107 of 165 points to pass. Since the 2010 harvest a joint seal on the neck certifies both the Wine of Origin details and IPW, with a number that traces the bottle. It guarantees a scored standard of practice, not organic farming.

WIETA, founded in 2002, is a non-profit that audits labour conditions: child and forced labour, health and safety, working hours and pay. Journey's End is WIETA and IPW accredited, Fairtrade certified since April 2017, and has run on solar power since 2014.

Organic and sustainable, explained

WWF Conservation Champions

The programme began in 2004 as the Biodiversity and Wine Initiative and took its current name in 2016. Champions conserve their natural land, work to an environmental management plan with WWF and are assessed each year. More than 60 farms now take part, conserving 23,585ha of habitat, and their bottles carry a sugarbird and protea logo.

Bartinney has held Champion status since September 2010. Neethlingshof sets land aside for conservation corridors and indigenous plants, and Mooiplaas Wine Estate was the first Champion in the Bottelary ward.

Organic and sustainable, explained

Questions people ask

Is organic wine free of sulphites?
No. Organic rules allow sulphur in winemaking but at lower levels than conventional wine. Wine made without added sulphites is a separate claim from organic, so look for it on the label.
What is the difference between organic and biodynamic wine?
Organic farming rules out synthetic chemicals in the vineyard. Biodynamic farming does the same and adds natural preparations and a calendar tied to the moon, and it is certified separately, by Demeter.
What does the IPW seal on a South African wine mean?
It means the farm, cellar and bottler passed an audit under Integrated Production of Wine, the industry's environmental scheme. The same seal certifies origin, vintage and grape, and carries a number that traces the bottle.
What is a WWF Conservation Champion wine farm?
A farm recognised by WWF South Africa for conserving its natural land and improving water and energy use, under a management plan assessed every year. Look for the sugarbird and protea logo on the bottle.

Updated October 2026.