When in Robertson and doing the wine route, a favourite stop in is always van Loveren Family Vineyards – which is well known as one of SA’s most popular wines, and this bustling farm tells a unique story.
The farm has been in the Retief family since 1937 when Hennie Retief (Senior) purchased the land and after some urging from his new bride, Jean van Zyl named the farm after one of her ancestors, Christina van Loveren.
From humble beginnings, Van Loveren has grown to become South Africa’s leading family-owned winery, known for their consistency, award-winning wines – which we all know and love.
The beautiful gardens at van Loveren tell a wonderful story of memories, Jean loved to plant beautiful trees and flowers, and she continued to do so over the years until her death – marking births of children, momentous occasions, Mandela’s release from prison and other major events in her life. We took a guided tour which was both informative and educational as well as allowing us to explore the gardens and enjoy the peace and tranquillity that abounds here.
We noticed the beautiful red flowers along the entrance to the farm and were informed that all the family members of the Van Loveren wine estate have these red flowers planted along the front wall of their farms – and there are a lot of kids and grandkids make no mistake! We spotted about 8 other farms after that on our drive home that displayed these beautiful flowers.
Christina’s is the beautiful restaurant which boasts an indoor and outdoor seating area and is located in the original old farmhouse, in fact, the old front door still remains as does much of the original farmhouse structure and is a great opportunity to grab a bite to eat and a brief respite under the trees from the summer heat.
Wine tasting is what the guys at van Loveren do best – they have a large indoor tasting room which can easily accommodate up to about 100 people at once, and tastings can also be outside on the beautiful deck under the trees.
They have a large variety of different tasting and pairing options, and we battled to select which one to take, but I eventually selected the ‘Van Loveren Cheese and Wine’ – which showcased 2 whites, 2 reds and a glass of sweet wine with a cheese pairing which was utterly delicious. My travelling partner chose the ‘Undiscovered Gems’ tasting – 4 rose wines paired with an incredible assortment of tasty treats like Turkish delight and dark chocolate.
Pairings range from between R 60 to R 65 each and they even have a cute kiddie pairing for R 50 which includes the non-alcoholic bubblies.
The gift shop will allow you the opportunity to purchase a few bottles of your favourite vino to take home with you, or you can also order wines to be delivered if purchasing in larger quantities.
We really enjoyed our visit here, and I highly recommend this a stopover on your wine routing experience!
A: R317, Robertson
T: +27 23 615 1505
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