Uva Mira Mountain Vineyards
Share:
In Their Words
Uva Mira History & Location
Nestled against the Helderberg Nature Reserve and just 9 kilometres from the Atlantic Ocean coastline, Uva Mira reaches up to 620 metres above sea level on the slopes of the Helderberg Mountain Range, just 20 minutes drive from Stellenbosch. Our name translates to ‘The Wonderful Grape’ and we are located within the area widely recognised as the ‘Winemaking Golden Triangle’.
Our Estate is 127 hectares in size – 33 hectares being under vine. Our position at altitude creates the climate for wines that are by definition elegant in style, with our 6 varietals being Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Merlot, Shiraz, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Our fine wines are handcrafted using only grapes from the vineyard sites on our property, to truly express the unique traits of our remarkable site. Wines of elegance, minerality & longevity.
We look forward to welcoming you to Uva Mira Mountain Vineyards and sharing the privilege of our unique location with you.
Uva Mira Operating Hours
Wine Tasting: open daily 10am-5pm.
We are closed Christmas Day, Day of Goodwill, New Year’s Day, Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
*PLEASE NOTE*
All times, prices and facilities listed are subject to change. We recommend checking latest details directly with the farm and pre-booking experiences wherever possible, to avoid disappointment.
Uva Mira Wine Tasting
We harness nature to produce wines of the highest quality. Our vision is to merge traditional winemaking practices with the latest innovations in technology to create defining modern wines of an international standard with the ultimate respect for our resources.
Visit our Tasting Room to enjoy a tasting of selected wines and our artisanal platters while taking in our breathtaking views of False Bay, Table Bay and Table Mountain.
Wine Tasting Prices
** Please note due to demand, our white wines have sold out until Nov 2021. Tastings until this point are red wines only **
The Mira Classic Tasting includes 3 wines for R80pp or our Mira Collection Tasting includes all 5 of our Estate wines for R120pp. Wines can also be served by the glass. Artisanal cheese and savoury meat platters are available, from R225 per platter (pre-booking recommended).
Please note due to COVID restrictions, a max of 36 people are permitted in the Tasting Room, so pre-booking is recommended.
Uva Mira Restaurants
Although Uva Mira serve food platters, there is no full service restaurant at the wine farm. The town of Stellenbosch and a number of wine farm restaurants are however within easy reach by car.
Uva Mira Tours & Activities
Uva Mira currently do not offer tours of the vineyard or cellar.
When Lucy Visited
I simply loved Uva Mira! This is a small and humble wine farm at the top of a scenic mountain, with no over the top bells and whistles, just wonderful quality wines, passionate staff and amazing views. Do not miss visiting, especially in late summer!
So What Makes Uva Mira Stand Out?
You may not have heard of this intimate little gem before but don’t let that put you off. It is relatively remote, but as long as you have a car, this is one of its unique selling points, alongside its 360 degree views and wine.
Uva Mira sits at the top of a mountain road, which leads off the R44 between Stellenbosch and Somerset West. It’s only a 10 min drive to the top from the R44 but as it’s a dead end road, the only visitors to the wine farm are those lucky people who know of its existence. On a clear day, this unique mountaintop position offers guests spectacular views down the valley across to the city of Cape Town, Table Mountain and False Bay (the ocean) on one side, and their picture-perfect vineyards on the other. This is a boutique farm with limited seating however if you can sit outside, it feels so special to be elevated, completely surrounded by Mother Nature.
Another element which sets Uva Mira apart is the quality of their wine. Although they’re located in the heart of South Africa’s traditionally warm winemaking ‘Golden Triangle’, due to their elevation and proximity to the ocean, they are as cool as places like Elgin (and Burgundy for that matter) and so their wines are defined as ‘cool climate’: notably elegant, fresh and pure. They actually harvest on average two weeks later than the Stellenbosch valley below.
In spite of this I hadn’t heard of Uva Mira before – and the tasting room isn’t ostentatious, so I sat down with no expectations. I was so surprised! Wine tasting is subjective, however I walked away loving all 5 of their estate wines, which is really unusual.
So What About The Farm Itself?
As I’ve mentioned, you do need transport to reach Uva Mira however the road up from the R44 is tarred and easy to navigate. It’s around 20 mins from Stellenbosch and 45 mins from Cape Town. The road is very scenic, ascending past vines and several other wine farms including Guardian Peak, Ernie Els and Hidden Valley, so easy to combine with one or more of these.
Googlemaps takes you to the entrance of the farm, then simply follow the signs to the Tasting Room. Uva Mira itself consists of one main building, which houses a small indoor tasting area and adjacent cellar, an elevated ‘Sun Room’ conservatory and 2 outside balcony/patio tasting areas. Platters are available however there is no restaurant on site and no facilities for kids. There are also no gardens, so definitely worth pre-booking due to limited seating.
The inside tasting room is quite rustic and traditional, with exposed beams, a long oak table particularly suitable for groups and a small table in front of a fireplace. If it’s a sunny day however you’re more likely to want to sit in either the adjacent ‘Sun Room’ conservatory (which is bathed in light due to floor to ceiling windows and overlooks the mountains and trees), the ‘Sea Side Patio’ (which faces the city and False Bay) or the ‘Mountain Side Patio’ (which faces the opposite direction towards the vines and mountains). See my Top Tip below for more information on choosing where to sit.
What About The Wine Tasting?
Uva Mira’s wines are all produced from grapes harvested on the ‘cool climate’ estate and as I’ve mentioned they are incredibly elegant. They produce 3 wine ranges including the Mira series, the Nines collection and the ultra premium Icon collection.
Although they have ‘ranges’, they prefer to focus on the styles of wines, for example they make two styles of Sauvignon Blanc, three styles of Chardonnay, two styles of Shiraz/Syrah, plus a single varietal Bordeaux wine and Cabernet Franc-led Bordeaux blend. That said, their focus is heavily on Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, which usually form part of the Mira tasting.
As a the time of writing, only the Mira series wines feature on the tasting menu (others available for purchase). Each range has a backstory and I loved the Mira labels on the bottle, showcasing the Mira star and its constellation. Our wine host was really charming, patient and informative and she spent ages chatting with us about the wines – we felt very welcome.
The 5 wines in the Mira series include a Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and a Shiraz, priced at R80pp for 3 or R120 for all 5 (** please note since my visit some wines have sold out, I recommend calling ahead to check latest offerings**). You can also order these by the glass and they offer cheese, meat or mixed platters for around R250 – I saw these and they looked really good.
I opted for all 5 of the Mira series wines and as I’ve said, I thought these were excellent: elegant, very smooth and well balanced in terms of fruit, acidity and tannins. I particularly liked the gently oaked and buttery Chardonnay and the smooth as silk Cab Sav. I find it’s quite difficult to get a smooth Cab Sav at tastings (they often need excessive decanting or are designed for ageing), however Uva Mira have produced a fine medium bodied example here – certainly the best ‘cool climate’ Cab Sav I’ve ever had! Bottles range from around R170-R290 for the Mira wines; they are pretty special so well worth it.
In Summary
Small yet perfectly formed, Uva Mira is totally charming in its simplicity, offering wonderful 360 degree views, quality wines and excellent service. Particularly suitable for couples and small groups, I would definitely pre-book at busy times such as weekends and would visit on a clear sunny day if you can, when you can take full advantage of the spectacular views. Pair it with another wine farm down the road and you have the perfect afternoon lined up.
Top Tip!
If you want to sit outside and it’s a nice day, choose your side wisely! The ‘Mountain Side’ patio is sunny and shielded from the wind, so it’s ideal in winter, but can get very hot in summer, even under the parasols. Conversely, the ‘Sea Side’ Patio is much more shady and it can get windy, so perfect on a hot summer’s day but pretty cold in the winter. We sat on the Mountain Side and it was so peaceful. facing the vines and towering Helderberg Mountain range.
