At the edge of possibility: Africa’s highest vineyards taking shape in Rwanda

High-altitude viticulture is in the ascendant. As traditional wine-growing regions become more crowded and prohibitively expensive, the search for new vineyard land is on the literal up.

Add in a warming climate, and it means that growers seeking cooler temperatures, diurnal shifts and extended growing seasons are looking skyward.

From the dizzying elevations of Argentina’s Andean vineyards to China’s emerging mountain scene and South Africa’s increasingly experimental high-lying sites, altitude is the new frontier in fine wine.

The greater African continent has entered the chat, with lofty vineyards found from Kenya to Morocco. And now Rwanda – with Africa’s highest vineyard at 2,700m on Mount Karisimbi.

Breaking new ground

The vineyard is located in the Virunga Highlands region in the Volcanoes National Park, an area most famous for gorilla-trekking.

It forms part of Vinmusa, a US$22 million wine and hospitality development that aims to establish an appellation system: the Rwanda Origin Control (ROC).

The project broke ground in September 2026 with the ceremonial planting of 150 Chenin Blanc vines at Kinigi at 2,100m, coinciding with Kwita Izina, Rwanda’s annual gorilla-naming ceremony.

A further 4,661 vines followed across three sites. With 28,000 more planned for next year.

‘We’re naming our wines after the gorillas,’ says founder Andrés de la Roche. First is set to be Poppy, a traditional-method sparkling Chenin Blanc.

‘Poppy is probably the most famous gorilla in Rwanda,’ he explains. ‘She was David Attenborough’s favourite, Dian Fossey’s [too]... and it’s the perfect name for a sparkling.’

Community spirit

‘We’re optimistic, probably a little crazy,’ laughs co-founder Liam T Dall. ‘But sometimes you need to be both.’

Along with co-founder Michelle Ressler, they identified a gap in Rwanda’s gorilla-trekking tourism, where lodges command astronomical rates and visitors often depart immediately after.

Vinmusa aims to offer more accessible luxury accommodation, combining wine, gastronomy, art and cultural experiences to encourage longer stays, while creating employment and revenue for surrounding communities.

Dall’s impact work with survivors of the Rwandan genocide first brought him to the country and to his friendship with Karen Sherman, owner of Virunga Mountain Spirits (also in Kinigi).

He and de la Roche became investors in the distillery. During a visit they had an idea. ‘The land next door is beautiful. Imagine a lodge alongside the distillery?’

Washington DC-based branding entrepreneur de la Roche saw an opportunity to create something from scratch.

‘And then I said to Liam, “Do you think we could make wine here?” We looked at each other and said, “Why not?”’

The SA team

They assembled a team of South African specialists through the wine industry non-profit association Vinpro.

Among them is viticulturist Gert Engelbrecht, as well as winery engineer Gerard de Villiers, the genius behind some of the Cape Winelands’ most dazzling jewels, including Babylonstoren and Delaire Graff.

The winery infrastructure is being designed by Philip Jonker, fourth-generation winemaker at Weltevrede and founder of AFRI.CAN.

The company was born out of Jonker’s work with small-scale grape growers in Uganda, for whom he designed a fully equipped winery housed in shipping containers.

To get going they surveyed 12 prospective sites. ‘We were looking for a Goldilocks zone,’ recalls de la Roche. ‘And then we found three.’

Fortuitously, they all lie within close proximity of one another in the Virunga Highlands, each with its own mesoclimate.

‘Everyone’s been sceptical about wine-growing here,’ he adds. ‘Well, show me the data that says you can’t.’

Taking the temperature

‘The preliminary evidence explains why this is a serious proposition rather than simply an adventurous idea,’ asserts Dall.

Vinpro’s feasibility studies found a mean annual temperature of 16.49°C in the Virunga Highlands, within the 13-17°C range favourable for cool- to moderate-climate viticulture. An average diurnal shift of 11.11°C offers potential for preserving acidity and aromatic freshness.

Challenges include high rainfall, humidity and fungal disease pressure. ‘There’s no real winter, so dormancy is an issue,’ says Dall.

Proposed solutions include controlled dormancy, raised rows for improved drainage, vertical trellising, rain covers and pruning to coincide with an August harvest (the drier period).

The vineyards

Kinigi, the flagship estate, is planted to Chenin Blanc on volcanic basalt-derived soils. It will form the hospitality hub, with accommodation, a tasting gallery, the distillery and Kinigi Table restaurant.

Mount Karisimbi is the highest and most extreme vineyard, planted with Sauvignon Blanc, with Chardonnay and Riesling also under consideration. A research hub is planned.

Overlooking Lake Burera, the third site at 2,000m has rocky red shale soils and somewhat warmer conditions, prompting trials with Pinotage and other red varieties.

‘It rivals Lake Como in Italy in beauty,’ says de la Roche.

Looking ahead

Most of the revenue is expected to come from hospitality. ‘We would be crazy to do just a winery,’ says de la Roche, who envisages an estate that’s ‘almost like a live-in gallery’, created with Rwanda’s artistic community.

The first vineyard retreats are scheduled for June 2028, with the debut wines following in 2030.

The news neatly coincides with the announcement that Rwanda is set to host the Formula 1 African Grand Prix in 2030, bringing the sport back to the continent for the first time since 1993.

‘Rwanda is a remarkable country with big, bold ambitions,’ reflects Dall. ‘There’s something incredibly inspiring about a small nation thinking so expansively about its future, and the beautiful things that can happen when a country embraces ideas that might once have seemed impossible.’

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