There’s a wreck site on Stettyn Peak, 1,821 metres above sea level, that most South Africans don’t know about.
On 8 August 1963, an Avro Shackleton MR.3 — aircraft number 1718, serial registration — was on a routine training flight out of Cape Town when it struck the mountainside in the Stettynskloof range above Worcester. All 13 crew members of 35 Squadron, South African Air Force, were killed instantly.
The Avro Shackleton was a beast of a plane. A four-engine, long-range maritime patrol aircraft originally designed for the RAF, it was built to hunt submarines in the North Atlantic. South Africa operated eight of them from 1957, flying coastal patrols during some of the most politically tense decades of the Cold War era. They were stationed at what was then DF Malan Airport (today Cape Town International), and the squadron’s job was to monitor shipping lanes, track submarines, and patrol the coastline from the Mozambique Channel to the South Atlantic.
Aircraft 1718 was one of those eight. When it went down in the mountains above what is now the Stettyn estate, it left wreckage scattered across the peak that remains there to this day. If you hike to the crash site — and people do, it’s a challenging but accessible route from the Stettynskloof Dam side — you’ll find engine parts, sections of fuselage, and landing gear half-buried in the fynbos. It’s an eerie, sobering place.
The names of the 13 crew are recorded at the SAAF Memorial in Swartkop, Pretoria, but for decades the crash itself remained relatively obscure — a footnote in aviation history, known mainly to SAAF veterans and the farming families in the valley below.
How the Crash Became a Wine Range
Stettyn Family Vineyards farms the land directly beneath that peak. The Botha family has been on this property since 1818 — eight generations — and the connection between the farm and the mountain above it is deeply personal. The wreck site isn’t somewhere abstract. It’s visible from the vineyards on a clear day.
When the cellar decided to create a premium range, they chose to name it after the aircraft. Not as a marketing exercise — you don’t name a wine after 13 dead servicemen lightly — but as a way to keep the story alive in a medium that’s shared, talked about, and passed hand to hand. Wine has a way of starting conversations, and this is a conversation worth having.
The commitment goes beyond the label. For every bottle of Shackleton wine sold, a portion of the proceeds is donated directly to the Friends of the SAAF Museum — the organisation that maintains the SAAF Memorial, preserves aviation heritage artifacts, and ensures that the names and stories of servicemen like the crew of 1718 aren’t lost to time.
The Wines: This Isn’t Just a Good Story
A tribute is only as meaningful as the quality behind it. If the wine in the bottle were average, the story on the label would feel hollow. The Shackleton range is anything but average.
Shackleton Old Vine Chenin Blanc
The Stettyn Old Vine Chenin Blanc 2025 — the latest release under the Shackleton banner — is made from heritage old-vine plantings in the Breede River Valley. This isn’t young-vine, high-yield Chenin. These are vines that have been in the ground for decades, with root systems that reach deep into the complex soils beneath the Stettyn valley.
The numbers speak for themselves:
- Platter’s 2025/2026: 4.5 Stars, 90 points
- Vivino community rating: 4.3/5
- 2024 Standard Bank Chenin Blanc Top Ten Challenge: Named one of the Top 10 Chenin Blancs in South Africa (2024 vintage)
- Price on Vinty: R1,422 per 6-bottle case (R237/bottle)
For context, the Standard Bank Top Ten is one of the most competitive wine awards in the country. Hundreds of Chenin Blancs enter. Ten are selected. This wine sat alongside bottles from estates with five times its name recognition and price tag.
In the glass, expect quince, dried peach, and nectarine on the nose. The palate has a creamy, textural quality with toasted nut undertones — a signature of old-vine Chenin — leading to a long, elegant finish that keeps unfolding. It’s a wine that rewards patience. Pour it, wait ten minutes, and taste it again. It’ll be different.
We also carry the 2024 vintage if you want to compare vintages side by side — there’s genuine vintage variation here, which is exactly what you want from a wine with this kind of terroir expression.
Shackleton Pinot Noir
The Stettyn Pinot Noir 2024 is the red counterpart. Pinot Noir from Worcester might raise an eyebrow if you’re used to thinking of it as a Hemel-en-Aarde or Elgin grape, but the altitude and cool nights on the Stettyn slopes give Crafford something genuine to work with.
- Platter’s: 4 Stars
- Price on Vinty: R1,122 per 6-bottle case (R187/bottle)
This is a silky, medium-bodied Pinot with cherry, raspberry, and a savoury earthiness — more Burgundian restraint than New World fruit bomb. At R187/bottle, it’s less than half what you’d pay for a comparable Hemel-en-Aarde Pinot.
We also list a Stettyn Pinot Noir 2021 for anyone who wants to see how a few years of bottle age have treated it. That’s three vintages apart — and the difference in the glass is a genuine education in how Pinot evolves.
Why This Matters to Us at Vinty
We’re not sentimental about wine. We don’t think every bottle needs a backstory to justify its existence. Most of the time, the question is simple: does it taste good, and is the price fair?
But the Shackleton range is one of those cases where the story and the quality genuinely reinforce each other. The wine is excellent on its own merits — Top 10 Chenin, 4.5 Stars Platter’s, legitimate critical acclaim. The story is real — not something dreamt up by a creative agency but a genuine piece of South African military history that happened on this specific piece of land. And the commitment — donating to the Friends of the SAAF Museum with every bottle — means you’re not just buying a good wine. You’re funding the preservation of the story it carries.
That’s rare. We think it’s worth highlighting.
Other Stettyn Wines Worth Knowing About
The Shackleton range is the emotional heart of the Stettyn portfolio, but the cellar makes 12 wines we carry on Vinty, from R87/bottle to R397/bottle:
- The Petra Amphora Chardonnay 2024 — 93 points Platter’s, 4.5 Stars, R277/bottle. Clay-vessel-aged. The flagship.
- The Jar From Dirt Syrah 2023 — 4 Stars Platter’s, R397/bottle. Minimal intervention.
- The Guardian Red Blend 2024 — 4.0/5 on Vivino (456 ratings), R107/bottle. The braai wine with a pedigree.
- The Bąbelki Blanc de Blanc Brut — Traditional method Cap Classique, R117/bottle. “Bąbelki” is Polish for “bubbles.”
Browse the full Stettyn range on Vinty →
Frequently Asked Questions About Stettyn Shackleton Wines
What is the Stettyn Shackleton wine range?
The Shackleton range is Stettyn Family Vineyards’ premium collection named after Avro Shackleton aircraft 1718, which crashed on Stettyn Peak in August 1963, killing all 13 SAAF crew members. The range currently includes an Old Vine Chenin Blanc and a Pinot Noir. A portion of every bottle sold supports the Friends of the SAAF Museum.
Is the Shackleton Old Vine Chenin Blanc award-winning?
Yes. The 2024 vintage was named one of the Top 10 Chenin Blancs in South Africa at the Standard Bank Chenin Blanc Top Ten Challenge. It also scores 4.5 Stars and 90 points in Platter’s SA Wine Guide and holds a 4.3/5 community rating on Vivino.
Where can I buy Shackleton wine online?
Vinty carries both the Shackleton Old Vine Chenin Blanc (R237/bottle) and the Shackleton Pinot Noir 2024 (R187/bottle) with delivery across South Africa. Prices are per 6-bottle case.
Can you visit the Shackleton crash site?
Yes, the wreck site on Stettyn Peak is accessible via a hiking trail from the Stettynskloof Dam side. It’s a challenging route and not for casual walkers, but sections of the fuselage, engines, and landing gear remain visible in the fynbos at approximately 1,821 metres elevation.
What does the Shackleton wine support?
Explore Vinty’s XCellar range — premium unlabelled wines sourced directly from top Cape Winelands producers, at a fraction of cellar-door prices.
A portion of proceeds from every Shackleton bottle sold is donated to the Friends of the SAAF Museum, which preserves South African Air Force heritage, maintains the SAAF Memorial at Swartkop in Pretoria, and ensures the stories of servicemen are not forgotten.
