Heritage

In 1691 Philip Morkel, born in Hamburg, arrived in Cape Town. He was employed as a gunner by the VOC, on the ship Oostersteyn en route from the East to the Netherlands. During the stay of the ship in Cape Town harbour, Philip married a South African lady within 3 months. After one more sea voyage from the Netherlands to Batavia, Philip returned to Cape Town 10 months later to become a Free burgher and to ensure the lineage of the Morkels in South Africa. After the death of his first wife Maria, Philip married Catharina Pasman in 1713 and they were the ancestors of amongst others, the Bellevue Morkels.

Bellevue Estate has been owned by the Morkel family since 1861 when it was purchased by Dirk Cloete Morkel. He was primarily a sheep and cattle farmer, but established some vineyards. In 1900 his son, also Dirk Cloete, took over the reigns and followed in the footsteps of his father. His eldest son, Pieter Krige Morkel, fondly known as P.K. and a well-known character in the Stellenbosch agricultural community, did groundbreaking work in the establishment of vineyards on Bellevue and was ultimately responsible for the conversion of Bellevue to a wine estate.

In 1943 under the leadership of P.K. the original cellar was expanded. In 1966, P.K’s younger brother, Danie Morkel took over from him and his son Dirkie, the present owner joined him in 1978. Dirkie upgraded the existing cellar in 1998 to a modern, productive quality-driven cellar. Bellevue’s present owner and viticulturist, Dirkie Morkel is the fourth generation on the farm.