Restless River

South Africa

Jan. 26

Restless River is a small, but mighty, family-owned winery in the cool Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley.

Hundreds of years ago, the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley was known as Attacquas Kloof. In 1760 the elder Wessel Wessels arrived with his family and set up home, becoming the first European settler to live and farm in the valley. Some historians say it was Wessel who called the valley Hemel-en-Aarde (Heaven and Earth). Fast forward a few hundred years, when husband and wife Craig and Anne Wessels started planting part of the family farm in 2004, launching the Restless River label in 2012 to continual critical acclaim. They quickly made a name for themselves, and the cool climate, higher altitude Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, with their coveted, world class wines. The farm has some of the oldest Cabernet sauvignon and Chardonnay in the Hemel-en-Aarde, with vines first planted in 1999.