A historic building at the Laborie Wine Estate in Paarl, Western Cape, was badly damaged on Saturday afternoon when flames ripped through the building.

According to the Drakenstein Municipality’s official Facebook page, the fire broke out shortly after 12:00 today.

“The fire has already destroyed two structures: the Cucina Di Giovanni restaurant and the first wing of the accommodation facilities,” a post by the municipality reads.

According to reports, the building is as old as 300 years.

Firefighters were working to contain and extinguish the flames, with a strong focus on preventing the fire from spreading to the historic Manor House and the second accommodation wing.

The municipality confirmed shortly after 15:00 that the fires in the restaurant and the first wing of the accommodation facilities were contained, and teams have begun damping down operations.

“The Manor House and the second accommodation wing are now out of danger. Wind conditions remain strong, but all teams are fully alert and monitoring the area closely to ensure that everything stays under control.”

The municipality urged the public to keep the main road cleared.

Laborie Estate in Paarl on fire pic.twitter.com/JncwvaXN2C

— thevillageguy (@thevillageguy1) December 20, 2025

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