Overgaauw is located on the hillsides west of the town of Stellenbosch, in the Stellenbosch Kloof area, with altitudes ranging from 100 to 220 meters above sea level.  Just over 60 hectares is planted to vines. All the vineyards are planted east/west and are south-facing in the direction of the Atlantic Ocean and False Bay, which is just 15 km away (as the crow flies). Cool afternoon maritime breezes during the summer months bring down the average temperature which allows for better and more intense development of fruit flavours. Due to the estate lying in the lee of the Helderberg mountains, it is protected from the prevailing summer South Easterly winds, also know as "The Cape Doctor", which often wreak havoc in the Cape winelands. These wind free days enable the stomata of the leaves to continue their work undisturbed, which contributes to the development of the intense flavours found in the grapes at Overgaauw. In the late 1970s, Braam initiated mapping the soils on the farm to enable him in selecting the best sites for each varietal. This led to a continuous upgrading of the vineyards with currently, close to 60% of the vineyards planted to red varietals.

Excepting for the Pinotage bush vines, all the vines are trellised and mostly established on deep well drained Hutton and Clovelly weathered granite soils on the hillside to the loamy, sandy soils of the lower sites. The vines on the top slopes are un-irrigated while the rest receive supplementary irrigation depending on the vine's requirements. The unique terroir of Overgaauw produces grapes with high natural acids that ensure backbone, balance and longevity in our wines. Another unique aspect is the underlying minerality that can be picked up in almost all of our wines.

David and his vineyard team are meticulous in all aspects of their viticultural practices, focusing at all times on assisting the vines to produce the best fruit possible for our wines.

Overgaauw is proud to join the Biodiversity and Wine Initiative

Overgaauw joined the BWI in March 2010 and are proud to be part of this pioneering partnership between the South African wine industry and the conservation sector. David van Velden and the Overgaauw team have bought into the BWI’s goals; to minimise the further loss of threatened natural habitat and to practice sustainable wine production through the diligent adoption of the BWI’s biodiversity guidelines. In total Overgaauw has set aside 12 hectare of pristine ‘renosterveld’ and ‘vleiland’on various aspects of the estate.

The property has been in the family since the 18th century, and conservation of their natural heritage and ecosystems has been a passion that has been passed on over the generations. Due to this the current generation have a unique biodiversity story to tell: 

The Overgaauw Biodiversity Story
It would be interesting to know what the roadside looked like in the 1600’s and 1700’s when those travelling along the ‘Weg’ through the Stellenboschkloof  on their way to and from Cape Town crossed the land that is now the  Overgaauw Wine Estate.
Fortunately due to the love and respect  shown to their land and their heritage the four generations of  Overgaauw’s van Velden’s , have kept pristine pockets of the original vegetation,  which gives us a good idea of what it could have looked like in days gone by. With the diversity of fynbos and renosterveld vegetation growing on the weathered granite soils along the hillside and the lilies, various bulbous plants and grasses in the vleiland; Overgaauw is privileged to enjoy the variety of nature’s beauty all year round. 
The current generation have joined the Biodiversity and Wine Initiative to honour the love of nature of the past generations and to ensure that their children will also be able to enjoy their natural heritage along with their Overgaauw wine heritage.