Eight Gates logo
Eight Gates logo
The Special Occasion is Life

Eight Gates Wine

wine farm with mountain in the distance

Our Brand Essence

At Eight Gates Wine, we believe that every bottle tells a story—a story of friendship, craft, and connection. Our wines are more than a beverage; they’re an invitation to pause and celebrate life’s meaningful moments.

We are inspired by the friendships we’ve forged, the family roots we cherish, and the collaborative process that brings our vision to life. Each grape and barrel is carefully selected, drawing from artisanal practices and traditions that honor quality and sustainability.

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For Wine Lovers Like You

We create wines for those who appreciate the art of small-batch winemaking and value connection over material things. Our community includes wine enthusiasts who embrace exploration and joy and who appreciate the character that comes from intentional craftsmanship.

Characterful, Small-Batch Wines

Appreciation for Master Craftsmanship

A Community of Like-Minded Wine Lovers

The Journey of Eight Gates Wine

Eight Gates Wine was founded by lifelong friends Carlo and Kolja, whose journey together began in Cape Town in 1990. Their friendship endured as their careers took them across continents, with Carlo pursuing carpentry and winemaking, and Kolja exploring finance and entrepreneurship.

Kolja Stürmer

Wine enthusiast

Carlo Suter

Wine enthusiast

Crafting Wines with Passion and Precision

At Eight Gates Wine, our approach to winemaking is a labor of love, combining time-honored traditions with meticulous attention to detail. Our artisanal process is at the heart of what makes our wines unique.

Handpicked Grapes

We start with grapes selected from our carefully tended vineyards, chosen for their promise and grown with a deep respect for the environment. Each grape is a reflection of the care we invest in our land.

Artisanal Oak Barrels

Our wines are aged in bespoke oak barrels handcrafted by the Mittelberger Cooperage in South Tyrol, Italy. These barrels, made from wood seasoned in the pure air of the Dolomite Mountains, play a crucial role in developing the balanced, nuanced flavors that define our wines.

Traditional Techniques

We honor the simplicity and authenticity of traditional winemaking. From whole-bunch pressing of white grapes to open fermentation of reds, our techniques are designed to let the natural qualities of the grapes shine through.

A Commitment to Quality

Every step of our process is guided by a commitment to quality and craftsmanship. We believe that good wine takes time, and we’re patient in our approach, allowing our wines to mature naturally until they reach their full potential.

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Kolja Stürmer

Kolja, born in Cape Town, attended German Schools in Johannesburg and Cape Town before completing a Garden Landscaping Apprenticeship in Berlin. His love for nature led him to Sendai, Japan, where he cared for plant displays in offices and stores, took Bonsai classes, and explored Japan’s famous gardens. Inspired by Japanese culture’s respect for nature, he later studied Business & Accounting in London with dreams of starting a landscaping business.

This path, however, led him to fund management, taking him to cities like Melbourne, Vancouver, and Singapore. Throughout his 8-year finance career, his entrepreneurial side emerged, trading items from African leather goods to netsuke. After meeting his wife from Adelaide, the couple returned to the Southern Hemisphere, where Kolja launched an import and distribution business in South Africa. Now happily married with two children, he has created a home full of small creatures and reflects his landscaping passion in his own garden.

Carlo Suter

Carlo’s childhood spanned family farms across the Lowveld, Waterberg, and Western Cape, grounding him in nature’s beauty and the value of physical labor. After school, he trained in cabinetmaking in Basel, Switzerland, where a four-year apprenticeship revealed the magic in meticulous craftsmanship, fostering his respect for artisanship. Returning to South Africa, Carlo earned a degree in Oenology and Viticulture from Stellenbosch University. A harvest at De Trafford deepened his belief in how attention to detail shapes quality, which he applied on the family farm in Breedekloof, where he grew grapes and made wine for four seasons.

His passion for learning took him to wine harvests in France, where he connected with vignerons in Bordeaux and the Loire, then back to Switzerland to work in a Zurich fine wine store and gain experience with European harvests in the Douro and Mosel regions. A friendship with the Mittelberger brothers at their Bolzano cooperage led Carlo to assemble two 500L barrels for Eight Gates Wine, still in use today.