Arabella Wines

Arabella Wines: Family cellar on the R60 near Ashton

Arabella Wines is a De Wet family estate on the R60 about 5 km from Ashton in the Robertson Wine Valley—Langeberg and Sonderend views from the tasting veranda, Arabian horses on the pastures, and a straightforward brief: make the best wine possible at a fair price. It sits on the Ashton side of the corridor rather than in Robertson town, so plan it as an Ashton / R60 stop on a Breede River day.

Official site: arabellawines.com.

Family business since the mid-2000s

Official About copy: land has been in the De Wet family since the 1860s; a new cellar, bottling hall, and tasting room were built at the start of 2006, with the first vintage from the new cellar in 2006. Stephen de Wet leads viticulture, stud, and winemaking; son Jamie covers logistics, bottling, labelling, distribution, admin, sales, and marketing. The name Arabella plays on the Arabian horses that graze the farm—Stephen and Jamie are keen endurance riders (Jamie’s national colours in 2004 are noted on the site).

Vineyard scale in tertiary guides is often cited around 200+ hectares with Shiraz, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay among main plantings—confirm current blocks when you visit. Export footprint listed on the homepage spans dozens of countries; local visitors still get the veranda experience first. Early brand momentum is often linked to an Arabella Shiraz 2007 double gold at Michelangelo—historical context, not a promise of today’s open bottles.

Walk-in tasting hours (official)

Published on arabellawines.com:

• Office: Mondays–Fridays 08:00–17:00
• Tasting room: Mondays–Fridays 09:00–17:00; Saturdays 10:00–14:00

Wined aligns on Mon–Fri 09:00–17:00 and Sat 10:00–14:00 (and lists public-holiday hours that differ—prefer the official tasting-room block and phone on public holidays). Religious holidays: closed per Wined. Sunday: treat as closed unless the estate tells you otherwise.

Tasting tariff: thin on the official HTML researched—SA-Venues says “prices on request.” Do not invent a free-tasting claim from older festival PDFs. Ask at the counter or when booking groups. Visitor reviews sometimes mention olives or crackers with flights—treat those as nice surprises if offered, not a published platter menu.

What to expect on site

Wined and official copy invite the public to sit on the veranda with mountain views while tasting. Varieties listed across official/Wined surfaces include Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Merlot, Pinotage, Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz, Viognier, plus rosé and sparkling categories on the site’s wine anchors (including lifestyle names such as Pink Panacea in trade chatter—confirm stock on the day).

Groups / events: use events@arabellawines.com in addition to the general line—seed research noted dual contact paths (estate vs third-party winelands handlers). Prefer estate emails for tastings and functions:

• General: info@arabellawines.com
• Orders: orders@arabellawines.com
• Events: events@arabellawines.com
• Exports: exports@arabellawines.com

Telephone: 023 615 2256 (+27 23 615 2256). Postal: Arabella, P.O. Box 155, Ashton, 6715. GPS (official): S33° 50′ 30.02″ E20° 00′ 56.35″ (Wined close: 33°50'30.8"S 20°0'55.8"E).

Social

Linked from the official site:

• Facebook: facebook.com/arabellawines
• Instagram: instagram.com/arabellawines
• Twitter/X handle referenced historically; not required for visit planning
• YouTube: none verified

Giving-back note (official)

The homepage documents skills and social development programmes (first aid, chemical handling, pruning, forklift, spray operator courses; learnerships; sports sponsorships; housing maintenance; solar geysers). Useful brand context; not a visitor “experience product,” and not a reason to skip booking large groups through the events inbox.

Planning tip

Arabella is one of the clearer walk-in options on the Ashton R60 strip in this batch—use published Saturday morning hours, then continue to Ashton town cellars or Excelsior on the R317. For large groups, email events@ ahead. No on-site restaurant is claimed on the official pages reviewed; eat in Ashton or Robertson. Horse paddocks are part of the estate identity—enjoy the view without assuming public riding is included unless advertised separately.

Route context: Ashton corridor, not Robertson CBD

Travellers searching “Robertson wine farms” often land Arabella in the same list as town-centre cellars. Physically you are on the Ashton R60 approach—closer to Ashton’s rose-and-river geography than to Robertson’s Reitz Street tourism bureau. That matters for timing: pair Arabella with Ashton Winery on Route 62 or continue toward Swellendam-side estates, rather than assuming a five-minute hop from Robertson Winery. Allow drive time, especially if Saturday’s tasting window closes at 14:00.

FAQ

What are tasting hours?

Official: Mon–Fri 09:00–17:00, Sat 10:00–14:00. Confirm public holidays by phone.

Is there a published tasting price?

Not clearly on the official pages researched—ask on arrival or when booking.

Where is Arabella relative to Robertson?

On the R60 ~5 km from Ashton, Robertson Wine Valley—Ashton-side corridor, not Robertson CBD.

Who do I email for a wedding or large tasting?

events@arabellawines.com, with info@arabellawines.com for general queries.