About Us
Mike & Pam Neebe
Originally planted in 1994 by Tony and Lyn Mossop, Axe Hill celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2024. Mike Neebe took over in 2007, embracing the challenge of growing wines in this extraordinary place. Over the years, honing his craft as well as an adventure to Portugal’s Douro Valley in 2010, Mike has nurtured a deep regard for this ancient art.
The name Axe Hill, is a nod to history itself. Ancient hand axes, estimated to be over 250,000 years old, were discovered on the property when preparing the vineyards. This find has deeply connected us to those who walked this land before us.
In exceptional years, we craft a vintage fortified wine from a blend of traditional Portuguese cultivars—Touriga Nacional, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Roriz, and Souzão—using time-honoured techniques of hand sorting and foot crushing in lagares. Aged in old French oak barrels, our port develops depth and complexity over time.
Beyond our celebrated fortified wine, we produce a range of distinctive wines, including barrel-fermented whites like Ambientem (Chenin Blanc) and Tant Lenie (Viognier). Our Klein Karoo White Blend brings together Chenin Blanc, Viognier, Hanepoot and Palomino from historic vineyards and might vary from year to year. Our barrel-fermented Colombard offers a unique expression of the region.
Our Chenin Blanc is the backbone of our white fortified wine aged using fractional blending to build layers of complexity with each passing year. Since its first release in 2003, Axe Hill Cape White continues to evolve, gaining richness and depth.
For those who seek bold reds, we occasionally craft a Shiraz and other distinctive dry reds. Our flagship blend, Machado, may bring together Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca and when we are fortunate, a splash of Souzão! For the more adventurous, our experimental GATOS range, named after our beloved farm cats, offers something truly unexpected.
At Axe Hill, we don’t just make wine—we honour a way of life, deeply tied to the land, history and the people who share in our passion. When you visit us, you’re not just a guest; you are part of our story.
The Vineyard
Photography: Karl Schoemaker
The Axe Hill vineyard was Established in 1994. Originally intended for vintage port production, it consisted initially of Tinta Barroca, Touriga Nacional and later expanded with Souzão, planted in 2000. All fruit from the block is used for both wine & fortified wine.
The vineyard is situated at least a half kilometre from other fruit producing properties on the Wesoewer side of Calitzdorp. It is established on “Dorbank” on an East facing slope with vineyard rows laid out North to South. Dorbank is an extremely hard and very old silica cemented soil, common to the higher lying surrounds. These soils are required to be mechanically broken in order to make their use viable, but yield good quality & productivity when the soil profile is changed.
Consequently, the Axe Hill vineyard is considered to have “struggle” credentials and is approaching SA Old Vine status after 35 years! Trained on a 5 strand Perold trellis, the vines are irrigated 6 to 8 times per annum making use of the Calitzdorp Irrigation Board canals which deliver water from the Nels dam to our gravel dam for immediate micro spray application. Rainfall is low with an historic average of 250ml total per annum.
Canopy management is vital to protect the bunches from the intense West side afternoon sun exposure – whereas the canopy on the East side of the trellis is trained vertically to enable full morning sun exposure.
The vineyard is approximately 250m above sea level and is disease free, thought to be a beneficiary of the later afternoon Southerly breeze which dries the canopy in wet conditions. However, the vines can be desiccated when very hot, Northerly winds arrive!
Our vineyard has seen some intense weather and has continued to produce distinctive fruit for winemaking. Our approach to farming is practically organic. We follow a path of light touch farming and do not use harmful chemicals. We work hard to protect the vines as far as possible by using organic mulch to cover the root zone, planting cover crops to keep our soil healthy. Above all, we use our available water with great care.
A unique Calitzdorp vineyard.