The Basson family story
A heritage written
in every generation.
Before the first Ormonde bottle
A story of family, farming and foresight.
At Ormonde Wines, our story begins long before the first bottle carried the Ormonde name. It is a story of family, of farming and of a deep connection to the Darling hills.
In the early 1970s, Nico Basson Snr had the vision to plant vineyards on the hills of Darling, at a time when few could imagine the area becoming the renowned wine-growing region it is today. His pioneering spirit laid the foundation for a lasting family connection to the land and to wine.
The names behind the wines
Two grandfathers. One enduring collection.
For Theodore Eksteen Basson, the current proprietor of Ormonde Wines, this heritage is deeply personal. His grandfather Vernon Basson was an avid horseman and farmer, embodying the spirit of the land and the generations of Bassons who worked it.
His other grandfather, Theodore Eksteen, was a winemaker in his own right, farming in the Franschhoek and Paarl regions. A bottle of his 1925 Port still stands proudly in the Ormonde tasting room—a treasured link to a winemaking tradition reaching back over a century.
The Ormonde Heritage Collection is named in honour of these two men, celebrating their character and the legacy they passed down through the generations.
A name carried with grace
Christine, remembered in Ondine.
Christine is a treasured female family name, carried from one generation to the next. It lives on in the Ondine range as a tribute to Theo’s maternal heritage and in tender remembrance of his grandmother—a true dame of style, grace and poise.
The wine philosophy
“The wines we produce are the result of meticulous attention to detail.”
From the choice of location and plant material to devoted vineyard practices, patient winemaking and the decision to bottle only the finest product we can produce, we leave no stone unturned.
Our style is trusted, classic and elegant—wine inspired by generations of knowledge, immense passion and perseverance.
— Theo BassonCarrying the story forward
More than names.
More than stories.
These are threads connecting generations to the land, the vineyards and the wines we make today. At Ormonde, we are proud to carry them forward—with every vine planted, every vintage made and every bottle shared.