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Windmeul Winery
Capetown
The Windmeul Cellar is situated on the northern slopes of the Paarl Mountain just outside Cape Town. The first vines in this area were planted some 300 years ago by the French Huguenots, many with winemaking experience from the Loire Valley.
The wind driven mill from which Windmeul gets it's name was likely a remarkable example of a windmill in South Africa. It had a fantail to turn the cap and it had shuttered sails which opened or closed depending on the velocity and direction of the wind.
The tower portion of the original Windmill was demolished in the mid 1920's and only the base walls remained and were used to build a storeroon. A co-operative of export grape farmers bought the domrant site that the original windmill had stood on and vinified the land through inviting local wine farmers to join the co-op.
The Windmeul Co-Operative Wine cellars was registered in September 1944. There were 23 members who undertook to produce 1700 tons of grapes. A cellar was built in 1945 and in1946, the first harvest was pressed at Windmeul.
The Windmeul cellar is just 10min outside Paarl and Wellington and about an hour outside of Cape Town. Windmeul offers excellent wine tasting experiences, traditional country warmth and hospitality. The wine tastings are held in a cellar.
