Prince Alfred Hamlet
Warm Bokkeveld, Western Cape
A fruit village 10km north of Ceres on the R303, sitting in the Warm Bokkeveld valley below the Gydo Pass. The pass is the dividing line: warmer-climate deciduous fruit grows on this side of it, apples and pears on the cold side. Peaches, pears and plums packed here ship to markets worldwide, and the village runs as a packing and distribution point through the season.
- Sits in
- Warm Bokkeveld, below the Gydo Pass
- Known for
- Peaches, pears and plums
- Character
- Warmer valley floor, earlier than the Koue Bokkeveld
- Role
- Packs and distributes through the season
Tulbagh
Cape Winelands, Western Cape
A horseshoe valley closed in on three sides by the Witzenberg, Groot Winterhoek and Obiqua mountains, an hour north of Paarl. It follows the South-Western Cape pattern of winter rainfall from May to September and a warm, dry summer, and is one of the districts carrying South Africa's smaller apricot plantings alongside the Klein Karoo heartland.
- Sits in
- Mountain-ringed valley north of Paarl
- Rainfall
- Winter, May to September
- Summer
- Warm to hot and dry
- Known for
- Apricots and stone fruit
Ceres
Witzenberg, Western Cape
Ceres is really three growing areas in one name. The Warm Bokkeveld is the wide fertile valley floor, Bo-Swaarmoed to the east has built a reputation for cherries, and the Koue Bokkeveld climbs north over the Gydoberg to around 900m. That height is the point: the Koue Bokkeveld banks between 1,000 and 1,500 chill hours a winter, sits inside the optimum chilling range for apples, and takes snow in the higher blocks.
- Three areas
- Warm Bokkeveld, Bo-Swaarmoed, Koue Bokkeveld
- Altitude
- Around 900m in the Koue Bokkeveld
- Chill
- 1,000 to 1,500 hours a winter
- Known for
- Apples, pears and cherries
Elgin
Overberg, Western Cape
A high, cool basin above Grabouw, an hour from Cape Town over Sir Lowry's Pass. Cold winters and cloud off the sea in summer suit apples and pears, and it is the closest of our areas to the harbour.
- Sits in
- Basin above Grabouw, over Sir Lowry's Pass
- Rainfall
- Winter, among the wettest of our areas
- Known for
- Apples and pears
- Note
- Closest growing area to the Cape Town harbour
Robertson
Breede River valley, Western Cape
Robertson sits in the Breede River valley, where summer temperatures run high but a cooling south-easterly channels moisture-laden air up the valley in the afternoon. That daily swing between heat and relief is what the valley is known for, and it shapes how fruit colours and holds sugar here.
- Sits in
- Breede River valley
- Summer
- Hot days, cooling south-easterly
- Character
- Strong day-to-night temperature swing
- Known for
- Stone fruit
Bonnievale
Breede River valley, Western Cape
Bonnievale is a ward of the wider Robertson district, further down the Breede River toward the coast. Same river system, same afternoon south-easterly, but the sites sit lower and closer to the sea, which spreads the picking window across the two areas rather than compressing it into one week.
- Sits in
- Robertson district, lower Breede
- Relation
- Same valley system as Robertson
- Character
- Lower, closer to the coast
- Value
- Widens the picking window with Robertson
Klein Karoo
Western Cape interior
The apricot heartland. In 2018 the Klein Karoo carried more than 75 percent of South Africa's area under apricot production, ahead of Piketberg, Ceres and Worcester. It is a semi-arid interior basin between the Swartberg and the Langeberg, and the dry heat is exactly what gives Karoo apricots their concentrated, sun-ripened character.
- Share
- Over 75% of SA apricot area, 2018
- Sits in
- Semi-arid basin between the Swartberg and Langeberg
- Climate
- Dry interior heat, low humidity
- Known for
- Apricots above all
Kammanassie
Klein Karoo, Western Cape
Foothill blocks along the Kammanassie mountains on the eastern side of the Klein Karoo, toward De Rust and Oudtshoorn. These sites sit inside the same apricot heartland as the wider Klein Karoo, with mountain shelter and the altitude of the foothills tempering the interior heat.
- Sits in
- Kammanassie foothills, eastern Klein Karoo
- Near
- De Rust and Oudtshoorn
- Character
- Mountain shelter, foothill altitude
- Known for
- Apricots and stone fruit
Langkloof
Western and Eastern Cape border
A long valley running along the Southern Cape, straddling the Western and Eastern Cape border. It has been farmed since 1760 and grew into a major fruit region through the 1900s, prized for apples and pears. Today the Langkloof produces roughly 20 percent of South Africa's apples. Its southern arm, the Klein Langkloof, is a prominent apple area in its own right.
- Share
- Around 20% of SA's apples
- Sits in
- Southern Cape, across the provincial border
- Farmed since
- 1760
- Known for
- Apples and pears, with stone fruit