South Africa · Plettenberg Bay

DGB

DGB is a Western Cape wine company managing a portfolio of historically grounded South African brands, including Boschendal (est. 1685), Franschhoek Cellar (est. 1945), and Fryer's Cove on the Atlantic West Coast.

The producer

DGB is built around three distinct wine addresses in the Western Cape, each with its own geography and founding story. Boschendal was first planted in 1685 between Franschhoek and Stellenbosch beneath the Simonsberg slopes, making it one of the oldest continuously operated wine estates in South Africa. The Tabatznik family holds the land and heritage buildings; DGB manages the wine brand and cellar. Franschhoek Cellar began in 1945 when local grape farmers stopped selling their fruit to outside cellars, pooled resources, and built a cooperative winery in the valley. That building still stands.

Fryer's Cove operates from a different climate altogether, with Atlantic-facing vineyards on the West Coast cooled by the Benguela Current. The distance from inland Franschhoek is audible in the glass: Grenache Cinsault from the West Coast carries lifted raspberry aromatics and smooth, light-footed tannins where a warmer-grown version would read richer and heavier. Across the three brands, DGB covers everyday drinking through to premium tier, all originating within the Western Cape.

Known for

Multi-brand portfolio producer spanning Franschhoek, Stellenbosch, and Atlantic West Coast appellations, with Boschendal's three-century heritage and narrative-led labels across all brands.

Notable facts

The story

The farmers who built their own cellar

In 1945, the grape farmers of Franschhoek had a decision to make. For years they had been selling their fruit to cellars outside the valley, taking the price they were offered and watching the wine leave with someone else's name on the label. That year a group of them stopped. They pooled their resources, built a cooperative winery on a piece of valley land, and vinified their first harvest together under the Franschhoek Co-operative Wine Cellar name. The building they put up in 1945 still stands on the same ground. What began as a practical move to keep more of the value in the valley became the foundation of what is now one of the Western Cape's most recognisable wine brands, operating today as a premium label within the DGB portfolio. The farmers who raised that cellar would not have predicted the brand it became, but the building is still there to prove they did it.

The farmers who built their own cellar

In 1945, the grape farmers of Franschhoek had a decision to make. For years they had been selling their fruit to cellars outside the valley, taking the price they were offered and watching the wine leave with someone else's name on the label. That year a group of them stopped. They pooled their resources, built a cooperative winery on a piece of valley land, and vinified their first harvest together under the Franschhoek Co-operative Wine Cellar name. The building they put up in 1945 still stands on the same ground. What began as a practical move to keep more of the value in the valley became the foundation of what is now one of the Western Cape's most recognisable wine brands, operating today as a premium label within the DGB portfolio. The farmers who raised that cellar would not have predicted the brand it became, but the building is still there to prove they did it.

From the atlas

DGB

At A Glance

The Producer

DGB is a Western Cape wine company built around a portfolio of brands, each carrying its own address and history. The oldest of them, Boschendal, was first planted in 1685 and sits between Franschhoek and Stellenbosch beneath the Simonsberg slopes, making it one of the few wine estates in South Africa to have operated continuously across three and a half centuries. DGB manages the Boschendal wine brand and runs the cellar; the Tabatznik family holds the land, the orchards, and the heritage buildings separately. Two different organisations share one name and one place.

Franschhoek Cellar was not founded by a single family but by a group of Franschhoek grape farmers in 1945. Rather than continue selling their fruit to outside cellars, they pooled resources and built a cooperative winery. The building they put up that year still stands. Fryer's Cove operates from a different geography entirely: Atlantic-facing vineyards on the West Coast, where cooler air and proximity to the ocean produce wines with a lighter frame than anything grown inland.

The three brands cover different ground and different price registers, from everyday drinking to premium tier, all sourced within the Western Cape.

Place

Boschendal occupies a valley corridor between Franschhoek and Stellenbosch, sheltered by the Simonsberg mountain range. The position is warm enough for Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz to ripen fully, and the Simonsberg provides afternoon shade that slows the final weeks of ripening, allowing more complexity to develop before harvest.

Franschhoek sits inland and runs warmer. The valley is long and relatively enclosed, with a strong Huguenot settler history that dates to the late 17th century. Franschhoek Cellar draws on vineyards spread across that valley floor and surrounding slopes, blending across parcels rather than vinifying single sites.

Fryer's Cove is the geographical outlier. The West Coast vineyards sit close to the Atlantic, where cold Benguela Current air keeps growing temperatures low. That extra coolness is why the Grenache Cinsault from Fryer's Cove carries lifted raspberry aromatics and smooth tannins rather than the deeper fruit and firmer grip of warmer inland reds.

Soil And Site

Boschendal's vineyards lie at the foot of the Simonsberg slopes, where decomposed granite and sandstone soils are typical of this stretch of the Franschhoek-Stellenbosch corridor. The estate pursues sustainability across both vineyard and cellar, with specific attention to preserving the surrounding biodiversity. Franschhoek Cellar draws from valley vineyards where alluvial and decomposed granite soils are common. Fryer's Cove's West Coast vineyards grow on shallow coastal soils, a condition that stresses the vines and contributes to the wine's freshness and lower alcohol.

Story

Boschendal was planted in 1685, changed hands several times over the following two centuries, and by the 20th century had become one of the Cape Winelands' most visited estates. In 1976 the property underwent full restoration: the Cape Dutch homestead was returned to working condition, the vineyards were replanted, and the estate was repositioned as a destination rather than simply a production property. That decision shaped how Boschendal presents itself today, as a place with visible history, not just a wine brand.

The ownership arrangement changed again in more recent years when the Tabatznik family took over Boschendal's core real assets while DGB continued to operate the wine brand. The cellar kept running; the label kept going to market. The two parts of the estate now operate under a deliberate separation, one entity holding the land and buildings, another producing the wine that carries the Boschendal name.

Franschhoek Cellar followed a different path. Born as a farmers' cooperative in 1945, it shifted from a collective selling arrangement into a production house, and then, over decades, into a premium brand within the DGB portfolio. The cooperative instinct, sourcing from many growers across the valley, carried through into a range built from multiple vineyard contributors rather than a single estate.

Vineyards And Cellar

Boschendal's approach across vineyard and cellar centres on sustainability. Farming and cellar practices are calibrated to retain the biodiversity of the Simonsberg foothills, including native fynbos vegetation. Nicolas, the estate's flagship red blend, draws on Bordeaux varieties grown on the Simonsberg slopes and receives barrel ageing, contributing the savoury complexity and firmer tannin that separates it from the more accessible tiers in the range.

Franschhoek Cellar works from grapes sourced across the valley, blending for consistency and range character rather than parcel expression. The Baker Station Shiraz goes through a process that delivers ripe mulberry and plum fruit with soft tannins, a signature that suits the warmer Franschhoek conditions. The Churchyard Cabernet Sauvignon receives oak treatment that adds savoury spice without overwhelming the concentrated blackcurrant and mulberry fruit.

Fryer's Cove vinifies Grenache and Cinsault together from its Atlantic-facing parcels. The cool growing season preserves the freshness and lighter body that distinguishes this wine from the cellar's inland counterparts.

Wines

The DGB range spans three distinct production addresses, and each brand has its own internal hierarchy.

Boschendal's top wine is Nicolas, a Bordeaux-influenced red blend from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot, with barrel ageing contributing depth and savoury complexity. Below it sit varietal bottlings in Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc.

Franschhoek Cellar organises its range under place-named tiers. Baker Station Shiraz is the accessible red: it leads with mulberry and plum, runs through with soft ripe tannins, and finishes long and juicy. The Churchyard Cabernet Sauvignon sits at a higher level: deep crimson, with blackcurrant and violet on the nose, concentrated currant and mulberry fruit on the palate, savoury oak spice woven through, and a long, fruit-led finish. Our Town Hall Chardonnay is unoaked and pale gold, with pineapple, lemon, and lime and no oak weight to interrupt the freshness. The Last Elephant, a red blend that sits above the varietal line, is Franschhoek Cellar's flagship, its name drawn from a documented 19th-century local event.

Fryer's Cove contributes Grenache Cinsault from Atlantic-cooled West Coast vineyards: bright with light violet hues, carrying wild raspberry and clove spice aromatically, with smooth tannins, balanced acidity, and a round finish that reads lighter and more perfumed than the inland reds.

In The Glass

The DGB portfolio covers a wide tasting range, and the geography explains most of the differences.

Boschendal Nicolas opens with dark fruit, warm spice, and the savoury complexity that comes from barrel ageing on Bordeaux varieties grown under the Simonsberg. The tannins are present and need food.

Franschhoek Cellar's reds read warm and ripe. Baker Station Shiraz gives mulberry and plum upfront, tannins that yield quickly, and a finish with enough length to feel considered rather than simple. The Churchyard Cabernet presses deeper: the blackcurrant and violet nose leads into concentrated dark fruit, oak spice lifts the mid-palate, and the finish lingers with a juicy, mouth-coating quality. Our Town Hall Chardonnay skips oak entirely and offers clean pineapple, lemon, and lime with the kind of direct freshness that suits warm-weather drinking.

Fryer's Cove Grenache Cinsault departs from the Franschhoek character entirely. Wild raspberry and clove spice on the nose, smooth tannins in the mouth, balanced acidity keeping the whole wine light on its feet, and a round finish. The Atlantic growing season made it: cooler temperatures, more time on the vine, and a freshness that warm-valley Grenache rarely achieves.

A Bottle To Understand It

Start with Franschhoek Cellar's The Last Elephant. It is a red blend from Franschhoek Valley vineyards, named for the last elephant documented leaving the valley in the late 19th century, and it sits at the top of Franschhoek Cellar's range. The wine combines the dark fruit and warm ripeness typical of the valley with the extra depth and complexity that the flagship position demands. Concentrated on the palate, with rounded tannins and enough dark fruit to hold through to the finish, it gives a clear account of what Franschhoek produces at its most considered level, and the name ensures it stays in the memory after the glass is empty.

Anecdote

In 1945, the grape farmers of Franschhoek had a decision to make. For years they had been selling their fruit to cellars outside the valley, taking the price they were offered and watching the wine leave with someone else's name on the label. That year a group of them stopped. They pooled their resources, built a cooperative winery on a piece of valley land, and vinified their first harvest together under the Franschhoek Co-operative Wine Cellar name. The building they constructed in 1945 still stands on the same ground. What started as a practical move to keep more of the value in the valley became the foundation of what is now one of the Western Cape's most recognisable wine brands, operating today as a premium label within the DGB portfolio. The farmers who built that cellar in 1945 would not have predicted the brand it became, but the building they raised is still there to prove they did it.

Final Word

DGB is a portfolio producer shaped by geography and history in equal measure. Boschendal anchors the group with a founding date that predates almost every other Cape wine estate. Franschhoek Cellar carries the Huguenot valley's winemaking heritage into a range that runs from everyday drinking to a flagship red with a name borrowed from a 19th-century farewell. Fryer's Cove proves that the Western Cape's wine map extends well beyond the inland valleys, all the way to the Atlantic. Three addresses, three histories, one company.

Sources

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