In the same hands since 1937: how a farm in the Robertson Valley became one of South Africa's largest wine companies
Anyone driving from Robertson towards Bonnievale will recognize the entrance from afar by the rows of scarlet cannas along the road. Behind them lies a farm that has been owned by the same family since 1937 and has followed a path in that time that few other wineries in South Africa can boast: from 500 cases of wine to a company that now manages around 1,400 hectares and is still run by four cousins who all share the same surname. Van Loveren is a new addition to the Kapweine range.
A farm called Goldmine
It all started with a piece of land that was actually called Goudmyn F. The name Goudmyn, Afrikaans for gold mine, came from a previous owner, whom the neighbors joked had paid for the land as if he had acquired a gold mine. Later, the farm was divided into sections, and in 1937, the father of Hennie Retief Senior bought section F for his son.
In 1939, Hennie married the teacher Jean van Zyl from the neighboring town of Ashton, and Jean was immediately bothered by the letter F. For her, it stood for "fools and failures." She convinced her husband to rename the farm. One initial option was Roche Rouge, named after the red mountain ridge of the Elandsberg that rises behind the house. Jean prevailed with a different suggestion: Christiena van Loveren, an ancestor of hers who had arrived at the Cape from Holland in 1699. Her bridal chest had been passed down through generations and still stands on the farm today. Many years later, incidentally, Jean admitted that the F could also stand for "friendship and flowers."
1980, the first own wine and a flood
Until the late 1970s, the family delivered their grapes, like almost everyone in the valley. Then the first farmers in Robertson began bottling under their own names, and Jean’s sons Nico and Wynand wanted to do the same. In 1980 the time had come; the brand was launched on their father's 67th birthday.
The beginning was unspectacular. 500 cases of Premier Grand Cru were bottled, and it took a full year to sell 400 of them. The family never sold the last 100 cases: in 1981, during the Laingsburg flood, the Kogmanskloof River ran directly through the cellar. The first tasting room was a rondavel converted from a milking shed. Anyone sitting in the bistro today will see nothing of that, but they still like to tell the story on the farm.
Four cousins, four tasks
In the 1990s, the third generation joined: Nico’s sons Bussell and Hennie, and Wynand’s sons Phillip and Neil. Four cousins who still divide the work clearly today. Hennie and Neil are responsible for the vines, Bussell for the cellar, and Phillip for the commercial side and management.
This sounds more banal than it is. Family businesses rarely fail because of their wines, but often because of the question of who gets to decide. At Van Loveren, the model functions through shared ownership and clearly separated responsibilities, without the need for anyone to overrule anyone else. Out of this constellation, a budget-friendly second brand emerged in the year 2000, which developed into the best-selling bottled wine in South Africa and laid the foundation for everything that followed.
Growing without losing the family
Since then, Van Loveren has grown into a scale that one would not expect when visiting the estate. In 2025, the production facilities of Overhex were added, as well as majority stakes in Neil Ellis, Landskroon, and Survivor, alongside brands like Zandvliet, Christina, Tangled Tree, or Rhino Run. Exports reach around 70 countries.
Phillip Retief describes the family as farmers at heart who have also become brand specialists over time. This is visible in decisions that were long considered unusual in South African viticulture: sweet wines in 1.5-liter bottles, a range in lightweight PET bottles, and a dedicated line with reduced alcohol content. In addition, there are development partnerships through which farm workers receive ownership of individual farms and become entrepreneurs themselves, secured by long-term purchase agreements.
Twelve sites and the work on red wines
Anyone producing this much wine must face questions about quality. Van Loveren has been answering them since 2017 with a program specifically targeting its red wines. The team has identified twelve particularly valuable sites from the entire vineyard area, which have been continuously developed ever since. According to Neil Retief, their grapes raise the level of every cuvée they flow into. This was complemented by the purchase of a top-tier site whose fruit is intended to give the top wines additional profile.
The willingness to try new things in the vineyard has a tradition at Van Loveren. The business was the first in Robertson to introduce a single-stake training system to improve grape quality.
Robertson: limestone, heat, cool nights
The Robertson Valley lies about 160 kilometers east of Cape Town, framed by the Langeberg and Riviersonderend mountain ranges, and belongs to the Breede River Valley region. The days are hot and dry, the nights are cool, and this difference is the reason why the grapes retain their freshness here. There is little rain, and the Breede River is the valley's lifeline.
What is special are the limestone soils, a rarity in South African viticulture. They give the white wines, in particular, a chalky tension. Robertson has therefore historically grown as a white wine region, is considered the center of Méthode Cap Classique in South Africa, and the home of Muscadel. With the warming climate, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon have also become established in recent decades, which explains well why Van Loveren is currently investing in red wines.
A garden that tells stories
Jean Retief began planting a garden around the residential house in 1939, and ever since, the family has planted trees for special occasions: births, weddings, but also historical events such as the end of the Second World War or the end of Apartheid. A brochure is available on the farm that explains individual trees and their stories. A garden as a family archive that you can walk through.
Welcoming guests was never a secondary matter for Van Loveren, but a pillar in its own right—albeit with the condition that it pays for itself. Today, this includes tastings, garden tours, and a bistro. For its work on its own carbon footprint, the farm has received the "Carbon Hero" award from Blue North Sustainability as part of the "Confronting Climate Change" initiative.
New at Kapweine
Van Loveren brings a signature to the range that didn't exist before: wines from chalky Robertson soil, made in a business that is big enough for consistency and family-run enough for originality. The spectrum ranges from uncomplicated wines for everyday life to bottlings from the selected sites, and both come from the same cellar where the third generation has been working for over thirty years.
Anyone who knows South Africa mainly through Stellenbosch or the Swartland will find another side of the Cape here. One that tastes of limestone, heat, and cool nights, and one that a family has been telling for almost ninety years.
