An animated view down rows of vines at sunset on the Velora hill. The sun sinks and the camera walks the rows as you scroll.
Forty two hectares of vines on red laterite, harvested twice a year, rested in a cellar cut into the hill, and poured for adult guests with food and plenty of water.
Scroll and the story moves sideways: the hill, the vine, the harvest, the cellar and the table.
Our rows sit at 480 metres on laterite over sandstone, where the escarpment breeze drops harmattan nights to 19 degrees. The soil drains fast after the heaviest August rain, so roots go deep and the fruit stays small and concentrated.
Vines in the tropics never really sleep. We prune twice a year, in October and in April, so the grapes ripen in the dry harmattan weeks of February and in the short August break between the rains.
Picking starts at half past five and ends by ten, before the sun warms the fruit. Thirty eight pickers fill 12 kilogram crates, and every crate is in the cool room within forty minutes of the cut.
The cellar was cut into the hill in 2015. It holds 17 degrees all year without fuss, and solar panels with a battery bank keep the pumps and cooling steady through every grid outage.
We make wine to sit beside pepper soup, suya, ofe owerri and grilled fish. The estate kitchen cooks for every tour, and the alcohol free Grape Press is poured for drivers and anyone who prefers it.
Small batches from our own rows. Prices are example rates for this demo, per 750 ml bottle unless marked.
Eighteen months in oak, deep and smoky, with dark plum and a long dry finish.
Our everyday red. Bright cherry, soft tannin, made for grilled meat and pepper.
Pale salmon pink from the February harvest. Watermelon, hibiscus and a dry edge.
Chenin Blanc picked at dawn. Green apple, pineapple skin and fresh acidity.
Small groups, guides who work the rows, and food from the estate kitchen. Every tasting comes with water, bread and the alcohol free Grape Press.
Five pours in the cellar with bread, groundnuts and water. Adults 18 and over.
A guided walk through the rows, then a three course lunch on the terrace. Grape press for under 18s.
February and August only. Pick with our team at dawn, then breakfast in the press house.
Five courses by candlelight among the barrels, for six to twenty guests.
We do not chase big wines. We let the hill speak, then we get out of the way.
Adaeze Anene, winemaker and managing director, third generation on the hill
Adaeze trained in cellars on three continents before coming home in 2009 to replant her grandfather's rows. She still tastes every barrel herself, every Friday.
Read the family story
Four or six bottles every quarter, first pick of each new vintage and two complimentary tours a year.
Chilled courier to Enugu, Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt, or collect at the cellar door.
Taste new wines from the barrel each January, before release.
On every bottle, tour and estate lunch, depending on your tier.
The vineyard walk was the calmest afternoon I have had all year. The guide knew every row by name, and lunch on the terrace was superb.Chinwe, example client
We hosted our parents' anniversary in the cellar. The team handled the power, the music and the menu, and there was Grape Press for the children.Example client, Independence Layout
Ordered two cases for our hotel lounge. Delivery to Abuja took two days, chilled, with every bottle checked against the invoice.Tunde, example client
It can book your tour, check an order or pass you to a person on the team.
Velora wines are for adults aged 18 and over. We never sell or serve to anyone under 18, and we ask every guest to plan a safe way home.
