Leeuwenkuil Family Vineyards

The farm that would become Leeuwenkuil was first recorded in 1693, when it was known as Schinderkuijl and noted as having 8,000 vines. Records indicate the first vines were planted here in 1705, on the banks of the Klapmuts River in the Voor-Paardeberg. Cape Mountain Lions once sheltered along the river banks, giving the property its name: Leeuwenkuil, meaning Lion's Den. In 1800, following a subdivision, the farm took that name formally, and in 1851, the Dreyer family became the new owners. They have been here ever since.

For generations, the Dreyers farmed mixed crops and sold their grapes to cooperatives and negociants. The transformation began with Willie Dreyer, the current patriarch, who over the past three decades has expanded the Leeuwenkuil vineyard from a modest 45 hectares to an extraordinary 1,250 hectares — making it the largest vineyard owner in the Cape Coastal region. More than a third of these vines are bush vines: untrellised, dry-farmed, and deeply rooted in the Swartland's ancient granite and shale soils. Some blocks are among the oldest surviving vineyards in the region.

In 2008, Willie and his wife Emma took the decision to start making and selling wine under their own label. The 2021 vintage marked another milestone — the first to be processed in their own winery on the farm, completing the journey from grape grower to estate producer. The winemaking team of Johann Gerber, Gustav Fouche, and Corrien Basson now crafts the wines on-site.

The portfolio is built around three ranges. The Family Vineyards range offers accessible, everyday wines. The Reserve range selects the best parcels for more complex, age-worthy expressions. But it is the Heritage range that has drawn international attention. These wines are sourced from Certified Heritage old vine blocks — low-yielding, dry-farmed bush vines planted at 2,800 vines per hectare in clay and shale soils. The Heritage Chenin Blanc, from blocks 42 and 55 years old, is fermented in French oak barrels and concrete using traditional whole-bunch pressing and natural fermentation. It is a profound expression of what Swartland Chenin Blanc can achieve when the vines are old enough and the winemaking patient enough.

The tasting room is open weekdays, offering visitors the chance to taste wines from what may be the most historically significant vineyard holding in the Swartland. There is no restaurant, but the wines speak for themselves — and after 175 years of Dreyer family stewardship, they speak with considerable authority.