Home / Experience Mauritius / Distilleries & Winery / Takamaka Boutique Winery
A small winery on the plateau above Mare aux Vacoas making wine from Mauritian lychees rather than grapes — a guided visit and tasting usually led by the winemaker himself.
Takamaka is the work of Alexander Oxenham, who trained through vinification campaigns in South Africa and France before returning to Mauritius in 2010, and who chose to build a winery around the island’s own fruit instead of importing grape must. The result is a boutique operation devoted to lychee wine — believed to be the only winery in the world working exclusively with the fruit — made from lychees grown on mature orchards in the north without pesticides or herbicides.
Visits are small and personal rather than industrial. You are welcomed by the team, or often by the oenologist or his wife, shown a short film and then walked through the whole process: how the fruit is pressed, fermented, stabilised and blended, and why lychee behaves so differently from grape in the tank. The tasting that follows covers the range, from dry through to sweeter and sparkling styles, and the conversation tends to be the best part — this is a working producer explaining their own decisions, not a scripted tour. Le Coin Café on site serves light plates, and picnic packs can be arranged; the shop sells the wines, which are hard to find elsewhere. Tastings are for over-18s, with soft alternatives for younger visitors. Book ahead: the winery is small and does not run continuous walk-in tours.
Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Saturday, 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Closed Sundays — visits by advance booking
A light layer — the plateau is cooler than the coast — and a designated driver if everyone intends to taste. Card or cash for the shop.
The site is compact and largely level, with parking on site. Tastings are for visitors aged 18 and over; non-alcoholic options are available for younger guests. Booking in advance is strongly advised, particularly in high season.
The dormant crater above Curepipe, twenty minutes away, with a rim walk and the widest view over the central plateau.
Further along the plateau road: the sacred crater lake, ringed by temples and watched over by two colossal statues.
Continue west for the widest view over the island’s largest national park and its remaining native forest.
Takamaka Boutique Winery,
Plaine Bonnefin, Mare aux Vacoas,
Plaines Wilhems, Mauritius
Around 20 minutes from Curepipe
Approximately 50 min–1 hour from Port Louis
Around 45 minutes from Flic-en-Flac
On the plateau near Mare aux Vacoas, inland from Vacoas, with parking on site. The lanes are narrow and poorly signposted — confirm directions when you book.
Yes. It works exclusively with Mauritian lychees, grown on mature orchards in the north without pesticides or herbicides, and is believed to be the only winery in the world dedicated solely to lychee wine.
Alexander Oxenham, an oenologist who trained through vinification campaigns in South Africa and France before returning to Mauritius in 2010. He or his wife often leads the visit personally.
Monday to Friday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM and Saturday from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM, closed on Sundays. The winery is small and runs guided visits by appointment rather than continuous walk-in tours, so book ahead — particularly in high season and for Saturday slots, which are limited.
A welcome, a short film, a walk through the winemaking process from pressing to blending, and a tasting across the range. There is a shop and Le Coin Café on site, with picnic packs available.
Yes, but the tasting is for visitors aged 18 and over; non-alcoholic options are offered to younger guests. Bring a designated driver if the adults in your group all intend to taste.