Villiera is a large, family-owned estate on the borders of the Paarl and Stellenbosch wine regions in South Africa. The estate takes its name from the Villiers family who were former property owners. Since 1983 Villiera has been run by the Grier family: cousins Simon and Jeff Grier are in charge of viticulture and winemaking respectively and have consistently upheld the quality of the wines. Cathy Grier Brewer, Jeff’s sister, is in charge of sales and marketing and is a regular visitor to Society tastings.
The family quietly gives a large percentage of its land over to conservation as part of the Biodiversity and Wine Initiative as well as planting thousands of indigenous trees and maintaining a wildlife sanctuary. Overall the Grier family’s approach is one of understatement as exemplified by their Down to Earth house wines which are triumphant blends of ripe fruit with distinct varietal character.
The mantra here is ‘turn the ordinary into an occasion’ which the Griers certainly manage to deliver through extraordinary wines at unremarkable prices. They make a wide range of wines across a broad price spectrum, including some of the Cape’s most popular bubbly.