We chat with a cellar each month about their business, what makes them lie awake at night and what gives them hope. “We work with the finest products – grapevines and their wines – and our industry has the warmest, most innovative people. Let’s celebrate it, share our stories worldwide and invite tourists to come and visit us! ” says Pieter du Toit, owner of Kloovenburg Wine & Olive Estate in the Swartland.

 

1. Tell us more about Kloovenburg?

Kloovenburg is located just outside Riebeek Kasteel in the beautiful Swartland. The farm has been in the Du Toit family since 1956 and the cellar, which can on average process about 200 tons, was only restored in 2000.

At Kloovenburg we focus on the high-quality market and everything starts in the vineyard. We have white and red wines in the Kloovenburg and Eight Feet wine ranges and also sell grape juice under the Kloovenburg brand. Our export market grows every year, and we currently export 40% of our wines compared to 60% of local sales. About 80% of our local wine sales are from our cellar door.

Here at Kloovenburg, however, we do not only make wine, but also grow table grapes and olives and have recently started farming with avocados. During harvest time we employ about 300 people to help on the farm.

 

2. How was the 2022 harvest season?

The 2022 season was a very interesting one. Our total yield increased quite a bit, which made managing logtistics in the cellar quite challenging.

We are very grateful for an excellent quality wine grape harvest this year. We also had a record harvest on the farm this year, with just over 300 tons being taken in at the cellar. In addition to our own cellar, we also supply grapes to Riebeek Cellar and other private cellars.

 

3. What makes your region special?

I think what makes the Swartland so special from a tourism point of view is the fact that it is very diversified. Here you can find anything from table grapes to wine grapes, olives, wheat fields, canola and much more. We are also not too far from the big towns or cities and now that a new highway has been completed, we are only an hour’s drive from Cape Town Airport. So tourists can easily get out to the countryside for a day trip, weekend or even for a week.

Our region also has distinctive Malmesbury shale soils, which greatly contributes to the uniqueness of the region’s wine styles. Even within the Swartland region, the wine styles are diversified as the terroir differs from Piketberg to Paardeberg.

 

4. Any exciting plans underway?

About 10 years ago we planted a lot of new cultivars on the farm that adapt much better in the Swartland region’s conditions than traditional grape varieties. Climate change is something we should definitely take into account when considering any new plantings.

Going forward, we would like to do more plantings against the farm’s slopes for premium purposes, and also to catch more of the cool seabreezes. All our vineyards are planted on the Riebeekberg slopes.

 

5. What is your message to other wine-related businesses?

We work with the finest products – grapevines and their wines – and our industry has the warmest, most innovative people. Let’s celebrate it, share our stories worldwide and invite tourists to come and visit us!

I also believe that everything that goes down, goes up again. It’s been a tough few years, but hold on tight – good things are on the way!