THE RETIEF FAMILY OF VAN LOVEREN

INTRODUCTION I created a family heritage book for the Retief family of Van Loveren. I photographed the four cousins, Hennie, Bussell, Phillip and Neil Retief with their families. I also photographed the Van Loveren wine cellar, the farm and old pictures that’s been in the family for years. The Van Loveren farm has a rich history and one of the stories that inspired me to photograph and create a brand new Retief family Heritage book was Yvonne Bussell, the great grandmother of the four cousins.

Yvonne wrote a family history book with stories and old pictures of family members so that the upcoming generations can read and understand their family history and where everything started.

THE RETIEF FAMILY OF VAN LOVEREN Van Loveren farm has been in the Retief family since the early 1937. Hennie Retief senior’s father bought him the land in the Robertson wine valley and then named it after Christina Van Loveren, an ancestor of his wife, Jean van Zyl. From very small beginnings, the Van Loveren farm grew to be one of South Africa’s leading family owned wineries.

THE SECOND GENERATION In the early years Van Loveren mainly focused on making sweet wines and brandy, but later on when the second generation joined the winery, Nico and Wynand started making noble cultivars that they sold to the wholesale trade.

In the 1970’s, the farmers from Robertson started to bottle wine under their own brand and Nico and Wynand really wanted to do the same. In 1980, on Hennie’s 67th birthday, his two son’s launched the Van Loveren brand. The first 500 cases of Premier Grand Cru we’re bottled under this brand.

It took a whole year to sell 400 cases and then the 100 cases remaining was lost by the Laingsburg flood in 1981.

Oupa Nico and Ouma Shan Retief

In 1986, the two brothers, Nico and Wynand entered the the formal trade, and started selling Van Loveren wine in retail. It was a big decision for them because they we’re warned that if they continued selling their own wine, wholesalers will not continue to buy from them because they would be competing against the wholesalers in the market place. Nico and Wynand went and sat in front of the Rondawel, making the biggest decision of their lives, would they fall into the pressure and stop selling Van Loveren wine in retail or would they take the risk and go ahead? After a bottle of Blanc de Blanc, the idea sounded so good, and after two bottles, the deal was sealer and their dream to succeed was much stronger than their fear of failure. That exact moment was the tipping point for the future success of Van Loveren.

Oupa Wynand and Ouma Penny Retief

THE RONDAWEL The Rondawel was the first tasting room on Van Loveren, this little room was converted from a milk shed. When there was visitors, a member of the family would greet them from the rondawel, proudly presenting the wines by means of a wine tasting.

THE THIRD GENERATION The third generation of the Retief ’s began in the 1990’s. Nico’s two sons, Hennie and Bussell, and Wynand’s two sons, Phillip and Neil joined the family farm after completing their studies. In 2000, the four cousins introduced the Four Cousins range of wines, cementing their role in the Van Loveren’s success to grow to South Africa’s leading family owned winery. Today the four retief cousins are the driving force behind the company.

Hennie Retief, farmer and co-owner of Van Loveren.

Chrislene Retief, wife of Hennie Retief.

Helene and Shani Retief, daughters of Hennie and Chrislene Retief. The twin pharmacists.

Nico Retief, son of Hennie and Chrislene Retief.

Marketing student and professional gamer.

The Four Cousins is the biggest selling bottled wine brand in South Africa, but not by chance, the story of the Four Cousins resonates because it is real. Hennie, Bussell, Phillip and Neil put all they had into the exciting venture, they even added their faces to the label as a personal endorsement. Four Cousins was developed in a style that spoke to a large, diverse and mostly untapped group of people. Today, The Four Cousins wine is enjoyed in more than 62 countries.

Bussell Retief, winemaker and co-owner of Van Loveren.

Anne-Marie Retief, wife of Bussell Retief.

Miemke Retief, daughter of Bussell and Anne-Marie Retief.

Marketing student.

William Retief, son of Bussell and Anne-Marie Retief.

Agriculture student.

Nicolaas Johannes Retief from Paarl assisted his son Hennie to buy Van Loveren in 1937.

Phillip Retief, CEO and co-owner of Van Loveren.

Charl-Mari Retief, wife of Phillip Retief.

Wynand Retief, son of Phillip and Charl-Mari Retief.

High school student.

Gideon Retief, son of Phillip and Charl-Mari Retief.

High school student.

Keerweder, the first farm that the third generation, Hennie, Bussell, Phillip and Neil bought together in 1992.

Neil Retief, farmer and co-owner of Van Loveren.

Stefanie Retief, wife of Neil Retief.

Isabella Retief, daughter of Neil and Stefanie Retief.

High school student.

Penelope Retief, daughter of Neil and Stefanie Retief.

High school student.

The first ever Van Loveren grape destemmer-crusher.

THANK YOU A special thank you to Shan and Nico Retief for the big role you played in creating the Retief family heritage book. Thank you Penny and Wynand Retief for the warm welcome and showing me around the farm. Thank you to the third generation, Hennie, Bussell, Phillip and Neil Retief for welcoming me into your homes and giving me the opportunity to photograph your household. Thank you to all of the staff at the Van Loveren vineyard for kindly helping me to create this special book that the Retief family can keep for generations to come.