OUR STORY
Leeuwenkuil Family Vineyards is driven by two resilient forces – quality time and quality wine. We take pride in harnessing our strong family bond along with our shared passion for winemaking to create intriguing and memorable wines from the unique terroir of the Swartland.
THE FARM
The original Manor House still lived in today.
Leeuwenkuil, or “Lion’s Lair”, was given its alluring name as a tribute to the ferocious Cape Lion that roamed the farmlands hunting unsuspecting cattle. Watering holes in the area were frequented by these lions, who posed a great threat to local cattle farmers.
Luckily for the Dreyer family, Leeuwenkuil’s land was perfectly suited for growing vineyards.
In 1693, Leeuwenkuil was known as Schinderkuijl.
This German name refers to the tradition of gathering materials from demolished buildings or shipwrecks to create something entirely new – that was often carried out on the farm.
Today the buildings on Leeuwenkuil are some of the oldest and most valuable in the entire region.
While the manor house was built using stone, the lintels above the manor doors were sourced from the bottom of a ship’s bow. The Leeuwenkuil courtyard still has the same historical layout from 1704 with two longhouses, outbuildings, and animal pens.
Schinderkuijl was one of the early wine farms of the region and had 8000 vines planted on it.
In 1800, following its subdivision, the farm’s name was changed to Leeuwenkuil and in 1851, the charismatic Dreyer family became the new owners. Johan Frederik Dreyer was a direct descendant of Johannes Augustus Dreyer who fled Germany, in 1713.
As with any good tale, this adventure involved a woman! Legend has it that he had to flee Germany after defeating his opponent in a sword fight over this very same woman!
THE DREYER FAMILY
Willie and Emma Dreyer are the proud owners of Leeuwenkuil Family Vineyards.
Their story set off when they met at the age of 16 and together they have built Leeuwenkuil into the successful winery it is today.
Hardworking, passionate farmer Willie has a particularly hands-on approach to wine farming and studiously tends to his land from dawn to dusk. He inherited half of the farm, which at that time comprised 45 hectares of vineyards. Over the past 30 years, Willie and his hard-working team have together built Leeuwenkuil into what it is today – 1250 hectares - the biggest vineyard owner in the Cape Coastal area.
Emma grew up a mere two farms north of Leeuwenkuil and has first-hand input on all aspects of Leeuwenkuil’s farming success.
She is the one who brings the Leeuwenkuil family together, always making sure everyone here is as happy as can be. Emma also loves to read up on genealogical history, through which she was able to discover the true roots of Leeuwenkuil, dating back to the eventful year of 1693.
Willie lives by the belief that “We do not inherit the land from our fathers, but rather borrow it from our children”. They are blessed to have 5 of their own: Anné, Francisce (or “Pikkels”, as we like to call her), Helanzi, Jonike and Willie (Jnr).
THE WINERY
Our winery is aptly led by MD Kobus de Kock and head winemaker Pieter Carstens; and assisted by the winemaking team of Madré Van Der Walt, Bernard Allison and Gerhard Augustyn.
Pieter grew up on their family farm near Porterville, a small rural town in the Swartland. His Carstens and Krige ancestors were pioneers and builders of the local cellar and agricultural cooperative. After graduating with a BSc Agric (Viticulture and Oenology) from Stellenbosch University, Pieter did a six-year stint in bigger local wineries, combined with European harvests. Not only did he gain vast experience in viticulture, winemaking, and sales; but he also met the Dreyer family during this time and subsequently joined us in 2008 as the Production and Sales Director. His passion for producing wine and delivering service on large scale helped grow Leeuwenkuil into an internationally renowned wine business.
August 2019 marked the start of the construction of our new state-of-the-art winery. While it’s modern and tailor-designed for our wine styles, it also shows a massive commitment and investment from Willie & Emma to ensure the quality of our wines remains high going forward. With a capacity of 30 million litres when complete, the future looks bright!
