Walker Bay
Cool maritime
A cool coastal district around Hermanus, whose Hemel-en-Aarde valley is South Africa's best-known address for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
Overview
About Walker Bay
Walker Bay lies on the Atlantic coast, around the town of Hermanus, about 100 kilometres east of Cape Town. Its vineyards are among the coolest in South Africa, only a few kilometres from the sea, and the best known are in the Hemel-en-Aarde valley, whose name means heaven and earth. Tim Hamilton Russell bought the first land here for vines in 1975, and the valley became the most recognised source of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in the country.
Bouchard Finlayson, Newton Johnson, Creation and others followed, and the valley is now divided into three wards, Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, Upper Hemel-en-Aarde and Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, each with a different altitude and soil. The district is also a popular stop for whale-watching along the coast.
Walker Bay is marked on the map.
South Africa
Shaded: Western Cape. Map units are states, provinces or départements, so a smaller place appears as the larger area that contains it.
The land
Climate & terroir
Climate
Cool maritime
Cool, breezy and often foggy, with the cold Benguela current moderating temperatures. Ripening is slow and harvest is late by Cape standards, which preserves acidity and gives fresher wines.
Terroir & soils
What the vines grow in
Clay-rich soils weathered from Bokkeveld shale and granite, with sandstone-derived soils on the higher ground. The clay holds moisture, which helps Pinot Noir through dry summers.
Go deeper
Rules, years & producers
Walker Bay is a district within the Wine of Origin scheme, with named wards for the Hemel-en-Aarde valley.
Hemel-en-Aarde wards
Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, Upper Hemel-en-Aarde and Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, each a separate registered ward.
Walker Bay Wine of Origin (district)
The wider district, covering the coast and the inland valleys.
What's grown here
Grapes
Each grape's page links back here.