The Dutch Governor Simon van der Stel founded Stellenbosch in 1679 and later he allocated farms in the Bottelary region.

The name "Bottelary" probably stems from the Dutch word "bottelarj" which was given to a storeroom or cellar, housing bottles. The first vines where planted during the early 1700's as the mild Mediterranian climate is ideally suited to the production of quality grapes. Growers soon realized the potential of the fertile soils against the slopes of the hills and as the wine industry grew so did the area under vines. Today numerous internationally renowned wine estates lie amongst these hills.

Thanks to the nature of the landscape certain areas could not be cultivated, these isolated patches of natural vegetation make up the Conservancy and are the focus of our conservation efforts.