Vergelegen

The name roughly translates as “situated far away” and the farm really did take several days to reach by ox wagon. But Van der Stel decided to turn the property into a true agricultural estate: he planted around 500,000 grapevines, established fruit orchards and orange groves, created a system of canals and reservoirs, and kept thousands of animals. His story, however, ended rather dramatically: the governor was accused of corruption and sent back to the Netherlands, and in 1709 the vast property was divided into four separate farms. Today, Vergelegen is much more than a winery. It is a place with more than 300 years of history, a historic manor house, gardens, the remains of an old mill, and other heritage sites. And yes, some of the trees planted back then are still standing here today.