Manley Wine Lodge

General Description

Manley Wine Estate is a boutique wine lodge and private cellar with luxury bed and breakfast accommodation, self-catering cottages, and a wedding chapel and beautiful function venue with a unique character.

Manley is situated in the beautiful countryside of the small town Tulbagh, only a 90-minute drive from Cape Town CBD, and is surrounded by majestic mountain views, sweeping vineyards, and beautiful farmlands.

The lodge itself is located towards Winterhoek only 1.3 km outside the historic Tulbagh town center, famous for its museums, unique earthquake history, and many different cultural activities.

Manley Guest Lodge

A short walk across the lawns from the thatch roof Manor House, in which the reception and dining areas are situated, we have seven large double bed and breakfast rooms which are arranged around a shaded courtyard adjacent to the pool. We also have two linked self-catering thatched cottages which are nestled beside the water at the end of the property. Each cottage can accommodate four persons and is ideal for small families.

All our rooms are equipped with a private en-suite bathroom, DSTV (satellite TV) with ample available channels to select from, air conditioning, tea and coffee facilities, mini-fridges, built-in safes, and WIFI internet access. Most of our rooms also have their own fireplaces, making them especially cozy in winter, when we have been known to get a dusting of snow on the mountains.

Breakfast is included in the cost of your stay if you book one of our double B&B guest rooms. Breakfast is unfortunately not included with the self-catering cottages, but can be added on by prior arrangement at an additional cost per person.

The on-site eatery caters to guests’ breakfasts and other meal requirements, and the premises has a large outdoor swimming pool, and a communal thatched Lapa with a large braai (barbecue) area.

Manley Private Cellar

The renowned Manley private wine cellar has produced many award-winning premium red wines, and wine tastings and cellar door sales are available to accommodation guests and public visitors.

Tulbagh was originally a relatively small white wine-producing region. It was regarded by many as the lesser cousin to the more established areas of Stellenbosch and Paarl. All that changed on September 29th, 1969 when an earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale virtually leveled the town. The town was rebuilt in the faithful style you see today, and with its rebirth came a new determination in the people of the town.

Fast forward to 1999 when Dave (Manley) Jordan along with some of the other local producers established the very first of the new farms to plant red wine grapes. Today Tulbagh has become highly regarded in South Africa and abroad, emerging as a wonderful boutique region - one producing some of the most significant red wines in the Cape.

The young and ambitious Joshua Van Blommestein has been newly appointed as Manley Wine Estate Wine’s new winemaker.

Joshua is still relatively new to the industry, with two years under his belt working as an assistant winemaker to Dewaldt Heyns, Cellar Master of Saronsberg Wine Cellar, and renowned member of the prestigious Cape Wine Makers Guild.

During his time spent at Saronsberg Joshua was taught the importance of attention to detail and meticulously working with one's hands when it came to the harvesting and preparation of the grapes right down to the actual winemaking process.

Joshua brings with him a passion for red wine with Shiraz being one of his favorites. Joshua says “Shiraz is an elegant wine and one we can have fun within the winemaking process.”

Joshua studied at Elsenburg College, the oldest wine college in the Western Cape, where he obtained a degree in Oenology and Viticulture. During his studies, he was given the opportunity to travel the wine regions of France and experience the wine culture and historical harvesting and winemaking process in Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Rhone.

Manley Chapel and Function Venue

Surrounded by rolling lawns, lush green vineyards and breathtaking mountain views, Manley Wine Estate is the perfect picturesque setting for any wedding or private function.

The wedding and function venue includes an on-site beautiful consecrated chapel, a magnificent multi-beamed ceiling hall spilling out onto wide-open lawns with breathtaking panoramic views of the mountains and vineyards, and a large outdoor lawn space, offering versatility and many different entertainment opportunities.

Manley Estate History

The estate was established by David Manley Jordan, who had farmed in the Free State, spent fifteen years on a sailing yacht, and then decided, with his wife Esther, to settle in Tulbagh, where they purchased Hunter’s Retreat in June 1996.

David farmed with dairy cows, sheep, and later a few horses, while Esther ran the small guest house. Within a few years, they had upgraded the guest house facilities, built a dam, and started planting vines. The first two crops were harvested and sold to three private cellars, after which David decided to build his own cellar and make his own wine. The existing dairy and stables were converted into a barrel maturation cellar and a fermentation room was added on, and Manley Private Cellar is now a registered, award-winning wine estate.

In 2008, a London based South African, David Ovenden, on a visit to Tulbagh, loved Hunter’s Retreat so much that he took a majority stake in the farm, renaming it ‘Manley’ after David Jordan’s great wines. And shortly thereafter, with a small group of friends, took full control and expanded the business, and started to build the distribution of the wines.

Today most of the output is sold overseas, shipping largely to the UK and also many other European countries.

A few years later, in 2020, Manley Wine Estate was purchased by Markus Ehehalt, a German investor with the vision to re-establish Manley Wine Estate into a splendorous, upmarket boutique winery and luxury guest lodge.

Parts of Manley Wine Lodge date back to the 1860s. The main thatched Manor House, unlike most of the buildings in Tulbagh, does not follow the classic Cape Dutch design but rather reflects the French Huguenot homes of the late nineteenth century.