A vineyard between heaven & earth

Cradled amid the hills of the Hemel-en-Aarde (Heaven and Earth) valley,
Bouchard Finlayson is widely acclaimed as one of South Africa’s leading boutique wine cellars.

With a terroir defined by both ancient soils and a cool maritime climate, the vineyards of Bouchard Finlayson are famous for producing award-winning
Pinot Noir, elegant Chardonnay and terroir-driven Sauvignon Blanc, while inspired blends showcase the depth of skill and innovation in our winemaking team.

The Bouchard Finlayson cellar is conveniently located a scenic 90 minutes’ drive from Cape Town, close to the world-famous whale-watching centre of Hermanus.

Restoration & preservation

Since purchasing the iconic Ashford Castle in 2013, Red Carnation Hotels has invested substantially in a meticulous restoration and enhancement programme that has restored the castle to its former glory.

The age and scale of the castle presented unique challenges for the Tollman family, the architects, designers and the extensive team of local craftspeople, who together with local suppliers delivered a level of precision that ensured every detail was taken care of in a sympathetic manner – and with breathtaking results.

Looking to the future...

The community surrounding the Ashford Estate is an integral part of our history, with continuous fundraising efforts to support local organisations, volunteer days spent with local charities and partnering with a charity of the year to support them. As we look to the future and the continuation of our sustainability journey, we are working alongside our local community of Cong with the aim of becoming Ireland’s very first green destination.

Together with The TreadRight Foundation, we strive to #MakeTravelMatter.

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MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences

We are honoured to have been selected to host a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences, which directly advance the United Nations Global Goals.

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Nature & nurture

We work to preserve the biodiversity and natural habitats on the Estate with the introduction of a bug hotel in our gardens and bat boxes throughout the Estate, to protect dwindling species of bats. We also collaborate with a local tree surgeon to develop a manageable action plan to care for our vast tree population. We are proud to grow our own produce in our polytunnels and forage for seasonal ingredients across the Estate, thus reducing food miles. In the future, the addition of four beehives with an indigenous species of bee will allow us to produce our own honey while protecting the bee population.

Beyond Green

We have joined with Beyond Green – a global portfolio of hotels, resorts, and lodges that exemplify sustainable leadership – as a founding member.

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Renewable resources

We are continuing our efforts to phase out single-use plastics by 2022 - so far we have saved 57,000 bottles from landfill - and reducing our food waste in partnership with Winnow. We have also introduced a system called Accuvio to allow us to monitor our energy consumption, waste generation and water use. We harvest our rainwater to use across the Estate and have introduced renewable sources of energy.