Alhambra Estate wins top award at Ceres harvest ceremony

The Ceres region, from the Koue Bokkeveld to the Witzenberg Valley and the warmer regions around the town of Ceres itself, has always been recognised as one of South Africa’s premier fruit regions. 

It has always been apple and pear country, with some of South Africa’s leading export groups located there.

At the end of the campaign, growers from Ceres Fruit Growers group gathered to review their 2025 season.

In what has been described as a very good fruit harvesting year in the region, Alhambra Estate – one of the flagship apple and pear estates in the Witzenberg Properties stable – won the top award at Ceres Fruit Growers’ 42nd annual harvest awards.

“It was one of the best seasons for apples and pears yet in the Ceres area,” said Frederick Odendaal, manager of producer services at Ceres Fruit Growers.

“With over 13,270 tonnes of Forelle pears packed at Ceres Fruit Growers as well as outstanding colour development of Pink Lady and Mahana Red, our producers’ performances were absolutely outstanding.”

Roelf Pienaar, managing director of Tru-Cape Fruit Marketing, the marketing and distribution arm of Ceres Fruit Growers, said the season was marked by ”exceptional achievements” at this year’s harvest awards.

“Winning these respected awards is a testament to the consistent excellence delivered by our growers,” he explained.

”Their accomplishments reflect exceptional orchard management and a relentless commitment to growing world-class apples and pears.”

Pienaar added that the achievements highlight the strength of Tru-Cape’s grower community and the remarkable 2025 season celebrated by Ceres Fruit Growers. 

While this marks the eleventh time Witzenberg Properties has lifted the chairman’s trophy, it is only the second time that Alhambra has achieved this honour (under the auspices of Witzenberg Properties).

The estate also secured the Bronaar trophy for the best performance with full red apples and the GKE trophy for the best performance with Kanzi.

Pieter Graaff, proprietor of Witzenberg Properties, emphasised that reaching this milestone is the result of a collective effort.

“It takes years to build a farm to a certain standard,” he outlined. ”We acquired Alhambra about seventeen years ago and replanted every orchard, ensuring that the estate could realise its full potential.”

Herman Botha, estate manager at Alhambra, attributes the apple, pear, cherry, and wine grape farm’s success to its unique location and climate on the slopes of the Matroosberg mountains.

“During the 2025 season we had enough water, a good winter with sufficient chill units, and a great growing season,” he added.

”Although it was a big crop, we were fortunate that everything ripened on time, avoiding bottlenecks during the harvest.”