Fire ravages historic wine estate

A FIRE that broke out at Laborie Wine Estate on Saturday destroyed Giovanni's Restaurant and part of the estate's accommodation facilities, dealing a heavy blow to one of Paarl's most historically significant wine farms.

- MURRAY SWART

Laborie, established in 1691, is among the oldest wine estates in South Africa and is deeply tied to the early French Huguenot settlement of the Drakenstein Valley.

Its historic werf and manor house form part of a cultural landscape spanning more than three centuries.

The blaze started shortly after midday. Drakenstein Municipality confirmed that "two structures the Cucina Di Giovanni restaurant and the first wing of the accommodation facilities were destroyed earlier in the incident".

Eight Werf accommodation rooms were affected. All individuals on site were safely evacuated and no injuries were reported.