South Africa · Swartland

Org de Rac

A certified-organic northern Swartland estate near Piketberg, spanning herbal Sauvignon Blanc, oak-matured red blends and lees-aged Cap Classique.

The producer

Org de Rac was founded near Piketberg in 2000 by fishing-industry entrepreneur Nico Bacon. South-facing vineyards on the northern edge of the Swartland receive Atlantic breezes, while compost, seabird manure, cover crops and released wasps form part of the estate’s certified-organic farming. The result is a broad range built from varieties including Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

The wines move from Mooi Sauvignon Blanc 2022—dry, herbal and high in acidity—to a Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blend with dark berries, plum, pepper, spice and oak. For sparkling wine, La Verne Cap Classique Brut is bottle-fermented and aged on lees, bringing red apple, peach, toast, French nougat and grilled lemon over a dry, creamy mousse.

Known for

Certified-organic northern Swartland wines, from herbal Sauvignon Blanc to lees-aged Cap Classique.

Notable facts

The story

From fishing to first release

Nico Bacon, an entrepreneur in South Africa’s fishing industry, founded Org de Rac near Piketberg in 2000 with the intention of making wines from sustainably grown grapes. The project began as a farm before it became a label: its first vines were planted in 2002, and the first Org de Rac wines were released in 2005. Bacon remained involved in the estate’s day-to-day operations as the vineyards developed certified-organic farming and the range expanded to include Sauvignon Blanc, red blends and Cap Classique. He continued that daily involvement until his death in June 2020, twenty years after founding the estate.

From the atlas

Org de Rac

At A Glance

The Producer

Org de Rac began when Nico Bacon, an entrepreneur in South Africa’s fishing industry, founded a wine farm near Piketberg in 2000. Its defining decision was to grow grapes under fully certified organic farming, then turn those grapes into a broad estate range: Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay and other whites; Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and blends; rosé; and bottle-fermented sparkling wine. The result is not one narrow style, but a set of bottles whose fruit, oak and lees treatment show different parts of the same northern Swartland farm.

Place

The estate lies near Piketberg, on the northern edge of the Swartland, about 130 kilometres north of Cape Town. Its vineyards face south, with westerly breezes arriving from the Atlantic around 50 kilometres away; the Berg River borders the property and Piketberg mountain stands to its north. Those physical boundaries matter in the vineyard: south-facing rows and moving air can slow heat accumulation, helping preserve acidity in wines such as the dry, herbal Mooi Sauvignon Blanc while allowing the red blend to reach dark-fruit weight.

Soil And Site

Before matching varieties to the farm, Org de Rac commissioned work on both soil structure and chemical composition. That practical sorting matters more than a soil-name shortcut: each grape was placed with an eye to how the ground could feed and ripen it. In the finished range, Sauvignon Blanc can hold a green, savoury profile, while Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot supply darker fruit, tannin and body in the estate red blend.

Story

Bacon’s move from fishing into wine was built around a farm rather than a pre-existing label. He envisaged wines from sustainably grown grapes, and the estate developed its own vineyard base before putting bottles into the market. Certified organic farming became the working thread through that development: compost and cover crops belong to the same project as the fruit in the whites, reds and sparkling wine. Bacon remained involved in day-to-day operations until his death in June 2020, long after Org de Rac had grown from new plantings into a producer with several grape varieties and wine styles.

Vineyards And Cellar

Natural compost, seabird manure and cover crops are used to fertilise the soils, while wasps are released as natural predators of harmful insects. Those choices direct attention to vineyard health and fruit rather than synthetic inputs; the wine consequence is clearest where varietal character remains visible, from Mooi’s herbal Sauvignon Blanc aroma to the red blend’s berry and pepper notes.

Cellar handling then separates the range. A later listing for the Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot records about 14 months in 225-litre oak barrels, adding oak, spice and chocolate notes around plum and dark berries. La Verne Cap Classique Brut follows the traditional method, with its second fermentation in bottle and 18 months on lees. The lees contact brings toast and nougat alongside apple, peach and grilled lemon, while the bottle fermentation supplies mousse rather than still-wine texture.

Wines

Org de Rac’s selection runs across Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Merlot, Chenin Blanc, Roussanne, Verdelho and Sauvignon Blanc, plus white blends, red blends, rosé and La Verne Cap Classique Brut. The range works as a spread of drinking occasions: dry, high-acid white wine; oak-matured, tannic red wine; and sparkling wine with lees-derived savoury flavour.

The documented 2022 Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot was 36% Shiraz, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot, with a velvety body and lingering dark fruit. Later bottlings have different grape proportions, so the blend should be read as vintage-specific rather than fixed. Mooi Sauvignon Blanc 2022 supplies the sharper white end: dry, herbal and direct, with high acidity. La Verne supplies the sparkling end, combining Chardonnay and Pinot Noir with bottle fermentation, apple fruit, toast and a dry, food-ready profile.

In The Glass

The red blend starts with dark berries and plum, then brings pepper, spice, chocolate and oak across a full-bodied palate. Its 2023 form was also described as tart and grippy, with sour cherry, cranberry and rhubarb on the finish, plus mint and eucalyptus over the red fruit. Shiraz contributes peppery fruit, Cabernet Sauvignon brings tannin and dark-fruit shape, and Merlot helps round the middle of the blend; oak adds another layer of spice and weight.

Mooi Sauvignon Blanc 2022 takes another direction. Its aroma is herbal rather than tropical, and the palate is dry with high, slightly angular acidity. That acidity keeps the fruit taut through a clean finish, making it a useful contrast to the oak and tannin of the red blend.

La Verne opens on red apple and peach, then moves into toast, French nougat and grilled lemon. The mousse carries those flavours with more creaminess than a still white, while lees ageing adds the savoury, bready notes that make the finish feel broader than simple citrus fruit.

A Bottle To Understand It

La Verne Cap Classique Brut is the bottle to start with. The current Swedish-market release is 70% Chardonnay and 30% Pinot Noir, made by the traditional method with a second fermentation in bottle and 18 months on lees. Its red apple, peach and grilled-lemon fruit meet toast and French nougat, so the glass shows both the grapes and the cellar work. Dry acidity and mousse keep the texture moving, while the lees-aged finish makes it suitable at the table as well as before a meal.

Anecdote

Nico Bacon founded Org de Rac in 2000 after a career in South Africa’s fishing industry, with the aim of making wines from sustainably grown grapes. The farm did not release wine immediately: the first vines were planted in 2002, and the first Org de Rac wines arrived in 2005. Bacon stayed involved in the estate’s day-to-day work as the vineyard developed its organic programme and added whites, red blends and Cap Classique to the range. He remained involved until his death in June 2020, two decades after establishing the farm near Piketberg.

Final Word

Org de Rac is worth seeking out for the contrast within its own vineyard: herbal, high-acid Sauvignon Blanc; dark-fruited red blend shaped by oak and tannin; and dry, lees-aged Cap Classique. The common ground is a northern Swartland farm worked under certified organic farming.

Sources

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