Our Story
The Manor House & Farm

The homestead of Kastanjeberg displays the date 1822 on the front gable.
The origional farm, Uijterwijk (as it was spelt at that time) was granted in 1699 by Willem Adriaan van der Stel to Dirk Coetzee. Later it was owned by Ferdinand Nel from whom Jan (Johannes Stephanus) Krige bought it in 1763.
In 1822 Jan Krige, who had already built the Uiterwyk homestead, built a new house adjacent to it which he then sold in 1854 together with some 235ha of Uiterwyk land to Charles Marais Neethling who named the property Kastanjeberg (Hill of Chestnuts).
Charles, who was then 27 years of age, was the great grandson of Christiaan Ludolph Neethling, who had been an important man in the Cape hierarchy of the Dutch East India Company, being among other things a member of the Council of Justice and Secretary of the Orphan Chamber. His sons were also officials of the Company but with the coming of the British and the change in government this ceased. Some went farming, but other members of the family preferred an academic and intellectual career: these included Johannes Henoch Neethling, one of the founders of Stellenbosch University, and his namesake J. H. Neethling, the agricultural scientist, who was the first professor of genetics in South Africa.
Charles Marais Neethling married Wilhelmina Jacoba de Waal. Ten years later her family bought Uiterwyk from Jan Krige thus becoming Charles’s neighbours. The present owner, Marais Neethling, is Charles’s great-great-grandson and thus Kastanjeberg has remained in the Neethling family to the present day.
The neo-classical gable of Kastanjeberg is simple but dignified. To the original T-shaped house a wing was later added with a straight end gable and a lower roof. At the end of the last century the house was Victorianised, with larger windows and two front doors. (later converted back to a single front door) The original thatch has been replaced by corrugated iron. The extent of the farm however is still as it was in Charles’s time.
Wine & Grapes
There have always been grape vines on Kastanjeberg. The original cultivars, Sémillon, Cinsaut, Palomino, Clairette Blanche, Pinot Blanc and Pontac have gradually been replaced by Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinotage, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Shiraz. Wine was made here in bulk but never bottled on the farm, it was at first sold to the KWV then to Stellenbosch Farmers Winery (SFW). Winemaking on Kastanjeberg stopped with the grapes then delivered directly to SFW which later merged with Distillers Corporation to form Distell, recently purchased by Heineken Beverages. A small amount of chenin blanc grapes are sold to Stellenbosch Hills winery where a single vineyard chenin blanc – Kastanjeberg Chenin – wine is produced and bottled.

The Family
Today, 5th-generation Marais Neethling and his eldest son, Sean Neethling, work side by side, producing exceptional grapes destined for premium wines. Henriette (Sean’s wife) runs the self catering accommodation on the farm and is also the owner of Bread and Butter Design. They have 2 sons, Marais and Henri who are both in Paul Roos Gym.

To book the self catering annex, please click here.