It all began in 1994 when G.T. and Anne-Marie Ferreira purchased a farm on the foothills of the Simonsberg Mountains to build a home for their young family amongst the beautiful old oak trees. Fast forward 25 years and today TOKARA is a tourist destination that offers visitors elegant, award-winning wines, two beautiful restaurants, an art gallery and sculpture garden as well as some of the best South African Extra Virgin Olive oil. At its heart, TOKARA remains the home to a family with vision, dedication and most of all determination. Building on this solid base gives the team members the opportunity to bring exuberance and fearlessness that will continue to carve TOKARA’s path into the future.
While family remains at the core, the success of this incredible undertaking requires the hands of many. The depth of knowledge about the unique terroir and vineyards accumulated over so many years is another key asset. “Right from the start, world-class has been the minimum standard of everything we do and will continue to be so in the future,” says Viticulturist Aidan Morton, who has been associated with TOKARA since day one.
The first wines released under the TOKARA label, the flagship Director’s Reserve Red and the Director’s Reserve White, enjoy wide international acclaim as a true reflection of everything the farm stands for – refinement, elegance and balance. “With the vineyards truly coming into their own, an already well-defined style and the introduction, after many trials, of the most innovative winemaking techniques in the wine world, we’re striving for vinous perfection in every wine we produce,” says winemaker Stuart Botha.
Since its maiden 2003 vintage, the Cabernet Sauvignon-driven Director’s Reserve Red has grown in stature as a world-class Bordeaux-style blend with a string of accolades in tow. “After many years of focus TOKARA identified Cabernet Sauvignon as our primary avenue of speciality. Our site is perfectly positioned to express the very best of Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon and to enhance this expression we deftly weave threads of added complexity of ancillary Bordeaux varieties. The Director’s Reserve Red is the spectacular result,” says Botha.
Sauvignon blanc is another significant TOKARA cornerstone. When presented in concert with Semillon in the form of the formidable Director’s Reserve White, this flagship, dating back to the 2004 vintage, stands equally tall on the world stage. The Directors Reserve White always displays rich layers of fruit and shows amazing clarity and depth with a zesty persistence.
With its position on the southern slopes of the Cape Winelands’ Simonsberg mountain range, TOKARA boasts unrivalled views over False Bay across the peninsula to Table Mountain. Within this fynbos-rich massif, at elevations of between 350m and 550m, TOKARA’s home vineyards and olive groves find life. The weathered sandstone and decomposed granite soil profiles lend structure, perfume and longevity to TOKARA’s wondrous wines.
Good wine is only one of the three ingredients in TOKARA’s recipe for a good lifestyle, however, which requires good food and good art too. TOKARA is the perfect embodiment of this three-pillared philosophy, with the picturesque property boasting a duo of exceptional restaurants lined with a host of awe-inspiring artworks.
The wine estate is home to a magnificent private commission of installation art by Marco Cianfanelli. Titled The Mind’s Vine, the artwork encapsulates the narrative of the creation of TOKARA, reflecting the winery’s origins as a superlative wine growing environment. It engraves the history of TOKARA into the experience of every visitor to this breathtaking estate.
–
To find out more, visit TOKARA’s website or contact them via email or telephone on +27 (0) 21 808 5900.