
OUR STORY
A series of great migrations of Nguni-speaking people brought this uniquely identifiable species into our country over 2 000 years ago, and they are synonymous with wealth and status. It’s this venerable tradition, and the story of one particular Nguni cow called Survivor, that brought about Survivor Wines.
Being transported from one farm to the next a Nguni cow decided she had travelled far enough and jumped. Farm owner Danie Rust found her, without any serious injuries, in his Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard and promptly named her Survivor.
Like her, our wines start with a leap in the vineyard and in true Nguni spirit our grapes are now sourced not only from the Swartland, but also the Elgin Valley, Stellenbosch, Darling, Tradouw and Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, to compose the unique complexity and diversity of the red and white wines in the Survivor Range. Our winemakers intensely debated which regions possessed the perfect balance of rainfall, clay, shale and granite content, so that opening a bottle of Survivor allows you to experience the essence of these terroirs. Survivor Wines are as distinctly South African as the Nguni cow that inspired them.
One fine day, as a truck laden with cattle rattled past our Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard, one of the passengers decided: The Cow Stops Here. She jumped. Not only did she survive, but she has thrived, and even produced several offspring. Because she embodies the free spirit of the Swartland, these wines pay tribute to our noble Nguni cow, Survivor.