Africa Capital Group (Pty) Ltd, shareholders of Aquasky sustainable bottled water, has announced the successful purchase of South Hill Vineyards in Elgin. This heralds a new German investment in South Africa.
“After 20 years of building South Hill Vineyards from a dilapidated farm to an amazing and successful wine tourism offering, Sandra and I felt it was time to sell the property and move on into retirement,” says South Hill founder, Kevin King.
“We were extremely pleased to hand the baton to Africa Capital Group knowing that many of our future plans will come to fruition. We left a tight team of exceptional individuals without whose input we would not be where we are today. We wish them all every success in the future.”
Founder and managing director of Aquasky, Brendan Williamson, said that the Somerset West based company had been looking for a site that would allow them to expand and diversify, and South Hill is ideal.
“The Elgin Valley is surrounded by the Kogelberg Biosphere, the heart of the Cape Floral Kingdom. The reserve aimed to conserve biodiversity and cultural biodiversity and to foster economic development that is socio-culturally and environmentally sustainable. This melded perfectly with our vision and values, and we look forward to making a sustainable contribution to the area from our new home at South Hill,” said Williamson.
South Hill Vineyards
South Hill is situated 10km from the Atlantic Ocean, at an altitude of 300 rising to 500 metres above sea level. The Elgin estate offers an art gallery and restaurant, as well as a variety of luxury accommodation options. With its lush, indigenous gardens, vineyards and mountain backdrop, it is a popular venue for weddings, conferences and other functions. But with about 24 of the farm’s 59 hectares under vine, South Hill’s main focus had been producing grapes for many premium Western Cape wineries as well as its own highly regarded ranges of cool climate-styled wines: South Hill, Kevin King and the reserve King of the Hill.
Aquasky
In 2017, the company created the first atmospheric water-generating plant in South Africa. The still and sparkling waters are rigorously filtered and sterilised using ultraviolet light. The result is pure water with a ph of around 8.3 a unique taste that is very neutral on the palate. Using an innovative model of producing water from the air, Aquasky offers a renewable and sustainable source of pure bottled water in a variety of bottle solutions, from their 100% compostable plant-based bottles made from sugar cane to their recycled, refillable upscale glass range.
Aquasky waters are prized by hospitality clients looking to reduce their carbon footprint, including Sea Breeze, Blowfish, Baie, Sushi Box, Ernie Els and Knead, and can be ordered online for home enjoyment.
Future expansion
The new owners will be expanding the wedding and hospitality offerings on South Hill, and investing R15 million in a new water plant. Now South Hill will add the art of pure water to its many offerings. In addition to South Africa’s premium water-from-air range, a new range of spring water will be launched in 2023.
