Never an easy task even in the most hospitable of places, cultivating vines at high altitude on rugged slopes is not for the faint hearted. Such was the task facing David and Rita Trafford when in 1976 they bought a farm on the hillsides of the Mont Fleur Mountain above Stellenbosch. The strict quotas placed on grape growing at the time were such that the vineyard remained experimental until quotas were finally increased. David Trafford, an architect by profession, caught the wine bug and never looked back, and is now responsible for the winemaking. He leaves Rita to take care of the sales at De Trafford. An artist by trade, Rita’s paintings feature on all the labels

Although quantities have grown since the seventies, the average production of just 3500 cases means that demand always exceeds supply. The focus is on premium red wines such as the Blueprint Shiraz which undergoes a long ageing in oak and is bottled unfiltered. A small amount of white grapes are produced, most famously their dry Chenin Blanc, fermented and aged in oak and their very rare Straw wine made from dried grapes.