History
In 1919 two brothers, Marthinus and Niels Momberg, bought Middelvlei and moved their families onto the farm.
A year later the first wines were pressed, mainly fortified at that stage. Their two sons, Stiljan (quiet Jan) and his cousin, also Jan but called Jan Bek (because of his more outgoing and voluble personality), inherited the farm in 1960. In 1963 Stiljan bought his cousin's half share in the farm, to become sole proprietor. Jan Bek went on to buy nearby Neethlingshof Estate and subsequently entered politics.
Over the next thirty years, Stiljan set about establishing one of the model wine farms in the district.
Today
Today, brothers Ben and Tinnie Momberg apply the knowledge passed down to them through three generations of winemaking to produce wine of exceptional quality and reputation.
As a family vineyard, the Mombergs ensure that the lessons passed down from father to son are preserved and respected while still accommodating modern trends and new techniques in the winemaking industry. The beautiful 52-hectare farm is famous for its red wines, and Tinnie has showcased his talents with his specialty, the Free-run Pinotage, a unique wine made through natural, un-pressed processes which set it apart from its peers.
Winemaking
Based on traditional winemaking methods, the cellar boasts a combination of both old and new techniques which have been refined through over 100 years of family wine making.
Our de-stemmer/crusher gently removes the stems of the grapes and crushes the berries to minimize hard tannins in the wine. Another more modern addition is a new must cooler to cool down the crushed berries before the fermentation process, therefore better preserving the fruit flavours. However, keeping with the methods passed down from father to son, the grapes are fermented in traditional open cement tanks and our cellar makes use of a gravity fed system to move the wine rather than using machine pumps.
The Cellar also hosts a maturation facility for 300 oak barrels (225-litres each) which are predominantly French oak, with a small selection of American oak to provide additional variation when developing the wood structure to certain wines.
The wines are then bottled on the farm making use of a mobile bottling service.
The Estate
Nestled in the heart of Stellenbosch, at the base of the picturesque Devon Valley and overlooking the Bottelary Hills, Middelvlei wine farm is home to the Momberg family. Their story begins in 1919 when two brothers purchased the farm, and has continued for over one hundred years to grow around a strong sense of tradition and family ideals. Today, Brothers Ben and Tinnie Momberg apply the knowledge passed down to them through three generations of wine making to produce wine of exceptional quality and reputation.
