Updated: 13 May 2026
…but not just any wine! It’s so disappointing when going out to eat at a restaurant, looking at the wine list on offer and thinking “I wish I could have brought my own wine”.
Our love of wine spans many years. I first discovered the joy of a great wine in Cape Town, where I lived for 14 years. The Winelands was a great weekend escape from the big City and an excellent introduction to our South African wines.
We first applied for our liquor license for Oak Leaf Café in 2020, just before the first Covid wave hit. Needless to say, it took over a year to be approved. It was also an extremely expensive exercise… to the point of us wondering if we had done the right thing!
The joy of receiving our license was short-lived as after reading the fine print, we were restricted to the most ridiculous hours in which we were legally permitted to sell alcohol. At this point, the question was: turn back now and cut our losses OR carry on and see this through. We decided to pick up the fight again and lodge an appeal with the liquor board. This appeal took over a year to be heard and eventually, we were rewarded with more reasonable trading hours in which we were permitted to sell alcohol. The cost of the appeal was almost the same as applying for a whole new license! If we do the calculations, we would have spent nearly R50,000 just in the application for the license and the appeal process, then there is the cost of the annual liquor license renewals, purchasing of glasses, refrigeration, bar space, stocking up with the alcohol you have chosen to sell and ice!! For anyone who believes ice is free, it’s not!
Now that Oak Leaf Café is licensed to sell alcohol, we have earned the right (at great expense) to restrict customers from bringing their own wine. However, we have chosen not to do that and prefer to give our customers the choice to bring their own wine at a corkage of R60 per bottle, or to try something new on our wine list. We do hope that you’ll choose the latter as we believe we have something for everyone. Let us introduce you to some excellent wines…. you may even discover a new personal favourite!
Our love of wine has seen us through this very long, arduous & expensive journey and we now hope to share with you the joy of a great wine.
OUR CELLAR SELECTION WINES:
Whites
Hermanuspietersfontein Kaalvoet Meisie Sauvignon Blanc
Gabrielskloof Chenin Blanc
Chamonix Unwooded Chardonnay
Pink
La Brune Pinot Noir Rosé
Reds
Gabrielskloof Bordeaux Red Blend
Gabrielskloof Wholebunch Syrah
Keermont Merlot
Chamonix Cabernet Franc
Bubbles
Arbeidsgenot Sparkling Wine
L’Ormarins Brut MCC
