The 300-year-old wine estate was once part of the thriving farm, Vergelegen, owned by Cape Governor Willem Adriaan van der Stel. After van der Stel's recall in 1708, the property was divided into four. The section now known as Morgenster was bought by Jacques Malan, a Huguenot who had fled religious persecution in France and was to found a dynasty in the Cape. It was he who gave the farm its name. Some 14 years later he handed over the property to his son Daniel, who was to father a family of 13 children.

A large, well-furnished house in the traditional H-shape, extensive outbuildings and a well-stocked wine cellar were Daniel's legacy to his son Jacobus in 1711. Morgenster acquired the six perfectly proportioned gables, praised in every history of Cape Dutch architecture. The front holbol gable, with its delicate scrollwork and scallop shell apex framing the morning star, is considered one of the finest existing examples of the baroque style in the Cape.

Giulio Bertrand, who bought the farm in 1992, immediately set about restoring Morgenster under the guidance of architect Revel Fox.

Apart from olive trees, the Morgenster hillside today boasts the classic red grape varieties - Merlot, Cabernet sauvignon and Cabernet franc, and a state-of-the-art wine cellar.

The scallop-mounted morning star from the front gable of the homestead has been adopted as the Morgenster logo. Emblazoned on the dark glass of the olive oil bottle and on the label, it also appears on the Morgenster wines.