Daphne Neethling

Owner and Founder of Paardenkloof Estate

Daphne Neethling is working hard to realise the vision of PaardenKloof Estate, being the first black female-owned estate winery, producing single vineyard, single varietal estate wines in South Africa.

Since 2001 Daphne and her partner has farmed Paardenkloof Estate, located at the foothills of the Babilonstoring Nature Reserve on the Bot River side of the mountain. Its hidden valley possesses unique terroir and a rich history, stretching all the way back to ancient Khoi San tribes that first inhibited the area.  Daphne won both the Western Cape and National Agriculture Female Entrepreneur award last year.

She says her best wine memory is tasting their very first red wine made at PaardenKloof, a Shiraz 2008, from vineyards they planted themselves in 2003; aptly named The Long Road, after the artwork of Peter Clarke who was one of the great artists of the Overberg and whose art  is featured on  the labels of the PaardenKloof Peter Clarke Collection.

Daphne says working as a woman in a male-dominated world has its pros. “Women are innately resilient, and that is what is required in an extremely competitive industry layered with cultural and patriarchal nuances. Being a woman has the added advantage that people are more willing to help!”