ABOUT CAPE ARDOR
Cape Ardor is a premium online wine store created for discerning drinkers seeking remarkable bottles beyond the familiar. We offer an expertly curated collection of fine, boutique, and hard-to-find wines from South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, France, and Italy, delivered to wine lovers across the United States.
Founded by Eric and Kara Matkovich in 2008, Cape Ardor began in a small San Francisco warehouse with a belief that the world’s great cellar doors should not be limited by geography. What started with a shared passion for South African wine has grown into an international portfolio shaped by longstanding winery relationships, thoughtful selection, and a genuine love of discovery.
Today, our close-knit team works with more than 100 celebrated and emerging wineries. Many of the wines we offer are produced in limited quantities or are otherwise difficult to find in the United States. From acclaimed vintages and cellar-worthy releases to distinctive bottles for the dinner table, every wine is here for a reason.
We remain independent, curious, and deeply invested in helping our customers drink well. Whether you are building a collection, revisiting a favorite estate, or exploring a new region, we are here to bring the experience - and the people - behind each bottle, closer.
ENVIRONMENT & COMMUNITY
Great wine is inseparable from the land and the people who care for it. As we connect customers with wines from around the world, we also recognize our responsibility to the communities and natural environments that make those wines possible.
Cape Ardor proudly supports the Pebbles Project and Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. Through our Giving Back program, customers can learn about and contribute to their work in community development, education, conservation, and wildlife protection.
We are equally committed to helping customers make more informed choices. Throughout our online wine store, we highlight organic, biodynamic, sustainable, vegan, and environmentally conscious practices wherever reliable information is available. This allows you to discover producers whose approach to farming and winemaking reflects the values most important to you.
OUR WINE PORTFOLIO
Our collection is built for wine lovers who value provenance, character, and a sense of place. It brings together fine wines from established estates, compelling independent producers, and winemakers whose bottles deserve to be discovered beyond their home regions.
Selection is an active and considered process. Our team tastes wines, studies vintages, reviews flavor profiles, speaks with winemakers, and listens closely to customer feedback. We consider not only quality, but what makes a wine distinctive: its origin, story, scarcity, aging potential, and ability to bring genuine pleasure to the glass.
The result is an evolving portfolio that ranges from everyday discoveries to sought-after, limited-production wines for collecting and cellaring. It includes one of the most extensive online selections of South African wine in the United States, alongside carefully chosen wines from Australia and New Zealand, and a few friends further afield.
Whether you are searching for an old-vine Chenin Blanc, an age-worthy Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon, a distinctive Pinot Noir, or something entirely unexpected, our collection offers more ways to explore the world of fine wine.
OUR PARTNER WINERIES
Our relationships with wineries are at the heart of Cape Ardor. We work closely with more than 100 producers across some of the world’s most compelling wine regions, connecting American wine lovers with the estates, winemakers, and stories behind the bottles.
Our partners include historic properties, internationally acclaimed names, family-owned estates, and emerging producers whose wines may be rarely seen outside their country of origin. Among them are Delaire Graff Estate, Tokara, Waterford Estate, Anthonij Rupert Wines, Klein Constantia, Fairview, Groot Constantia, Lanzerac, Man O’ War Vineyards, and many more.
These longstanding relationships give our customers access to hard-to-find wines, limited releases, mature vintages, and tasting-room discoveries that are not always available through conventional wine retail channels.
Although every estate has its own identity, our partners share a commitment to craftsmanship, authenticity, and the expression of place. We are proud to bring their wines - and their cellar doors - closer to passionate connoisseurs around the United States.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
Finding the right wine should feel personal. Our knowledgeable customer service team combines practical expertise with a genuine interest in understanding what you enjoy.
Whether you need help choosing a special bottle, finding wines within a particular budget, planning a gift, pairing wine with a menu, or adding to your cellar, we can offer recommendations based on your tastes and occasion. We can also help you navigate unfamiliar regions and varietals with the same care we would offer a friend at the tasting table.
We believe expertise should make wine more rewarding, never more intimidating. You do not need to arrive knowing exactly what you want - you only need to tell us a little about what you love.
That combination of personal guidance, careful quality control, and access to exceptional wines is what distinguishes the Cape Ardor experience. Wherever you are on your wine journey, our team is here to help you discover bottles worth opening.