It is inevitable that in an economy that has been so completely dominated by the extraction of mineral resources that mining capital would have, at some stage or another, infiltrated other sectors. Perhaps one of the most interesting sectors where it has permeated, albeit in a rather subtle manner, is the Cape’s wine industry. In fact, three of South Africa’s most prestigious and internationally renowned wine estates, including Boschendal, Vergelegen and Graham Beck, have, or have historically, had a rather intimate connection with the country’s once mighty mining industry.

Boschendal
The history of Boschendal, located in the majestic Franschhoek valley, dates back to 1685, when the first title deed of the farm was ceded to the French Huguenot, Jean le Long. It was under Le Long’s guidance that some of the very first vineyards were planted in the valley and the ground laid for the development of what would become one of the world’s most prestigious wine regions. Over the next 200 years, the property was extended to incorporate neighbouring farms, the vineyards flourished and Boschendal became a noted supplier of wine to the Cape and passing ships.

However, in the mid-1890s, an agricultural crisis, caused by a tiny root louse known as phylloxera, completely decimated the vineyards, leaving farms in the Franschhoek valley barren and bankrupt.

In the wake of such devastation, however, an astute nurseryman, Harry Pickstone, believed there lay an immense opportunity to recultivate the land for the purposes of fruit farming. Thus, in 1897, Pickstone approached Cecil John Rhodes to assist in funding the agricultural rejuvenation of the area. Never one to turn down a good business proposal, Rhodes acquiesced and set about procuring many of the historic farms of the valley, including Boschendal, which he subsequently joined to form the nucleus of the fruit company, Rhodes Fruit Farms. Rhodes did not live long enough to see the company flourish.
After Rhodes’ death, De Beers Consolidated Mines continued to manage the farms for nearly 40 years, before the estate was sold to Randlord Sir Abe Bailey’s company in 1938 and then again to Anglo American in 1969. It was during the Anglo American era, which ended 2003, that Boschendal flourished – the finest plant material improved the vineyards, the homestead was restored and declared a national monument, and substantial investment in the wine cellars elevated the quality and image of the estate, establishing it as a popular fine wine and food destination.

Vergelegen
The freehold title to the property that now comprises the presitigious Vergelegen wine estate was first awarded to Willem Adriaan van der Stel, governor of the Cape of Good Hope and son of Simon van der Stel, in 1700. As it took three days by ox-wagon to reach the new farm on the slopes of the Hottentots Holland mountain range, the property was christened Vergelegen, which means ‘situated faraway’. Van der Stel is considered to have been a true agricultural visionary – within six years, he had cultivated half a million vine stocks, laid out fruit orchards and orange groves and planted extensive camphor and oak trees. However, after six years as governor, Van der Stel was found guilty of corrupt practices and ordered to return to the Netherlands in October 1706. From that date, the farm passed through a succession of owners until it was bought by the Theunissen family in 1798, who owned Vergelegen until the early twentieth century.

The estate’s first association with South African mining capital came in 1917, when it was bought by preeminent Randlord Sir Lionel Phillips for his wife, Lady Florence. The Phillips spent vast sums of capital in restoring and upgrading Vergelegen, although they were not as concerned in the vineyards as they were in transforming the estate into a floral and cultural treasure trove.

Following the death of Lady Florence, in 1940, the estate was sold by auction to the Barlow family. Although the Barlows resumed farming operations on Vergelegen and replanted vines on a small scale, it was only under the management of Anglo American, which acquired the estate in 1987, that it, once again, flourished as a wine estate. Among the many projects undertaken by Anglo was the re-establishment of the vineyards to their historic core and clearing invasive alien vegetation. In 1992, a multilevel, sunken hilltop winery was built and opened by Baron Eric de Rothschild. Thanks to such investments, today, Vergelegen competes with the top 100 wines of the world and positions itself among the leading conservers of Cape cultural heritage.

Graham Beck
Graham Beck was one of South Africa’s most successful mining magnates of the latter half of the twentieth century. He learned about mining from the bottom up – he received a blasting certificate and a mine manager’s certificate and then began buying small mines that the larger companies were not interested in, and then made them profitable. During his half-century-long mining career, Beck owned some of the largest private coal mining interests in the country and was involved in various coal entities.

By the mid-1970s, he had become considerably wealthy and invested capital in three stud farms in the Western Cape town of Robertson. In 1983, Beck decided to buy the adjoining Madeba farm, which had been devastated during the Laingsburg floods of 1981. It was his ambition to establish a world-class winery in this area that saw the erection of a state-of-the-art wine cellar and ground- breaking tasting facility. With the aid of wine consultant and former Springbok rugby hero Jan ‘Boland’ Coetzee and tabacco magnate and multiple wine farm owner Anton Rupert, who advised him to plant chardonnay grapes, Beck redeveloped the farm. It was pure luck that inspired his decision to specialise in sparkling wine, as the calcium-rich soil of Robertson, which is so good for breeding horses, is perfect for making fizz.

Today, the Graham Beck Estate produces one of South Africa’s premier ranges of sparkling wines that was deemed prestigious enough for the Presidential inauguration of not only Nelson Mandela, but also Barack Obama.