Belfield is the smallest wine Estate in the Elgin valley, a renowned wine region in the Western Cape of South Africa. It is situated about an hour's drive from Cape Town. Belfield produces three small batch wines, from three single vineyards on the Estate. Attention to detail is part of everything that we do; from hand-crafted wines to special touches in our cosy self-catering accommodation. We believe in taking time to savour the simple joys in life and invite you to enjoy these with us through a glass of wine, a stroll through the beautiful gardens or a few days of bliss in the countryside.

 

Our Terroir

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Belfield has a unique terroir, beautifully suited to the production of elegant red wines. Elgin is a cooler climate in South Africa, closely matched to the climate of Bordeaux. Belfield is situated on a warmer, north east facing slope, with ironstone and gravel soils, which are well drained onto a bed of clay. The climate is conducive to long ripening, meaning the Belfield is one of the last Estate's in South Africa to harvest its red grapes. This leads to a beautiful balance between flavour, sugar and acidity in the grapes, leading to the soft tannins and perfumed fruit in the wines, which Belfield is renowned for. The ironstone soil is well known in South Africa for promoting a beautiful tannin structure, and the gravel structure means it is well drained, giving the roots the incentive to burrow deep for moisture. This natural struggle in a vine promotes wonderful complexity of flavour in the grapes and eventual wines.

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Our People

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Mel Kreft owns Belfield Wine Estate, supported on the marketing front by their son Allister Kreft and daughter, Jenna Kreft. The Krefts bought the estate in 2000, it was a lifelong dream to own their own Estate. Mike came from a farming background and they decided to plant red grapes, contrary to the popular movement in the Elgin valley towards white varietals. This decision has been justified by the award winning wines resulting, showing that terroir needs to be carefully matched to grape varietals.  Mike was the wine maker from the first vintage in 2005 until 2018, his belief has always been that "Wine is made in the vineyard", and if the grapes are carefully prepared, then the winemaking process is just one of nurturing and coaxing a natural process of fermentation and maturation. Mel heads up the hospitality side of Belfield, with four beautiful farm cottages available to stay in, these are rented out as self-catering accommodation to guests who want to escape the hustle and bustle of the city and experience farm life.

 

Our Gardens​

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In addition to the vineyards and farm cottages, Belfield has beautiful gardens to explore. These have been designed to attract a a variety of birds, bees, insects and other animals, including antelope, Cape fox and slender mongoose. It forms the lungs and contact to nature on the farm, and is linked to the fact that Mike and Mel owned a Protea farm previously, and have a passion for Cape fynbos. Both the Magnifica and Aristata wines are named for proteas.