If Jean-Vincent Ridon has his way, part of the garden at the premier’s Cape Town residence will be planted to wine grapes. It’s his city vineyard and history thing.

It could be that, having been invited to made wine from the holy vines of Clos Montmartre in Paris in October 2001, Ridon got hooked on planting vines where other people plot houses, swimming pools or, well, rose gardens. Or perhaps because, when the second harvest of the shiraz that he planted in the Andrags’ empty stand up in Lincoln street, rated five stars in Platter.

Since Clos d’Oranje was established on the slopes of Table mountain in Cape Town’s Oranjezicht, Ridon has been in the city vine-planting business in places like Camps Bay and Kalk Bay. The latter, 800 vines of cabernet franc, is almost certainly the nearest vineyard to the sea at some 50 metres from the waves.

Ridon’s city vineyard thing has a particular off-beat (French) poetic ring to it. Included is a funky passion to make wine among the city’s ancient cobbles stones. One venture, in Church Street didn’t fare so well, but his new location, in the ambience-loaded Heritage Square, is as theatrical and historical as you can get.

It is these (and other) wines, made from grapes that have to ripen peacefully amidst urban babble, seaside fogs and fruit-fussy city starlings, that brings on the delightful surprises about his way and means. His label, Signal Hill, is sure to guarantee wines of individuality. Many have scored exceptionally well. And they certainly stand out from and in the Cape crowd. (The stunning 2002 Eszencia, in the Hungarian style, burnishes the label’s credo of ‘Vive la Difference’.

This past year he has had youthful Kyle Zulch, previously at The Post House, join as partner. The 2010 wines (grapes are bought in from selected other, established vineyards as well) are in the tanks. Next year, they plan to use the entrance to their Heritage Square facility for grape delivery and processing for the small, boutique tanks inside. Meanwhile, visitors can pop in for a tasting or two.

* Jean-Vincent, who came to South Africa in the 1990s, is serious about planting vines at Leeuwenhof, presently premier Helen Zille’s official residency in Cape Town. The red tape tangle is, of course, the thing to unravel. It is somewhat of a joke that the previous official inhabitant, who had the old in-house cellar sealed (for religious reasons), had tentatively agreed to the vineyard. But then, such is the fun and games - and politics - of city-centre viticulture.