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.

A collage of Sustainability images, straws plastic bottles, and plastic spoons

Making travel matter

Together with The TreadRight Foundation and The Travel Corporation's family of brands, we hope to leave a positive impact on local people, wildlife and the planet to #MakeTravelMatter. We are committed to ensuring that the unique wildlife surrounding Xigera survives and thrives. This is only the start of our journey…

Discover more about TreadRight

Wild Entrust Africa

Alongside The TreadRight Foundation, we have partnered with Wild Entrust Africa, a Botswana-registered not-for-profit organisation that focuses on conservation and management of wildlife and wildlife habitats through applied science, education and sustainable development. The purpose of this partnership is to facilitate sustainability programmes for Xigera Safari Lodge in the Moremi Game Reserve of the Okavango Delta.

Learn more about the partnership

11 steps to sustainability

At Xigera we are proud of our state-of-the-art Energy Centre. This comprises a Tesla solar photovoltaic diesel hybrid system with lithium ion battery storage.
The bulk of our energy requirements are supplied by renewable solar which will save in the order of 73,000 litres (19,285 US gallons) of diesel, thus preventing the release of about 191 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
By installing one of the largest photovoltaic farms in the Okavango Delta, in the future Xigera Safari Lodge will be able to charge electric game-drive vehicles using solar technology.
An on-site composter processes all organic kitchen waste, which is sent to local communities for sustainable kitchen gardens.
All kitchens are fitted with fat traps to stop cooking waste from entering the Sewage Treatment Plant. This waste is then filled into 44-gallon drums, sealed and sent to Maun, a town in Botswana. Here, a local free-range chicken farmer feeds the waste to black soldier fly larvae which, in turn, converts it into high quality chicken feed.
We are proud to have removed all unnecessary single-use plastics from lodge operations.

Over 90% of the furniture and art pieces have been hand-produced in Africa by over 80 studios, designers and artists - the largest collection of African design anywhere in the world and intrinsically sustainable
During construction, a specialist arborist was contracted to ensure the protection of mature trees on the site. The Lodge has undertaken monitoring and record keeping of all fauna and flora, working closely with the Department of Wildlife and National Parks to ensure the continued protection of the lands we traverse.
The Lodge uses an entirely above-ground Calcemite sewerage system, with biodegradable chemicals for cleaning. The resulting grey water is safe to use for irrigation purposes.
All water used in the lodge is purified via a state-of-the-art reverse osmosis treatment plant. The water is then re-mineralised, ensuring guests can safely drink the tap water throughout the lodge. We also provide bottled water – both still and sparkling water – in environmentally friendly glass bottles.
Hot water is provided via thermodynamic geysers, while SolarView tinted glass ensures temperature stability indoors for energy-efficient air conditioning.