Andrew Gunn and his wife, first generation South Africans with Scottish and Viking heritage, own the Iona estate, which is situated in the apple-growing region of Elgin, east of Cape Town. The estate occupies a unique position in a valley between two hills on top of the eastern slope of the Elgin Valley (the handful of other producers in Elgin are more towards the valley floor) and is heavily influenced by the Atlantic Ocean 3km away. The soils in this area are unique in South Africa with an unusual abundance of post glacial alluvial types. This coupled with the cool and lengthy ripening period make it an ideal region for the production of aromatic white wine and medium bodied, European style reds. As a qualitative comparison, Iona receives 50% less rain in the harvesting months than Bordeaux and is also slightly warmer with an average growing season temperature of 17.5 degrees C. Neils Verburg is the winemaker and works closely with Andrew to obtain the ripest, most aromatic grapes possible and maintain this freshness and sense of place throughout the winemaking process which is conducted almost exclusively by hand in small parcels. The first vineyards were planted in 1998 and the second vintage, Sauvignon Blanc 2002 was awarded a Veritas Double Gold Medal.
