Launched in 2015, Survivor Wines are as distinctly South African as the Nguni cattle that inspired them. Just as each Nguni hide carries a unique pattern, our wines reflect the diversity of cultivars grown on carefully selected terroirs across the Cape. For over 2000 years, Nguni cattle have been part of South Africa’s heritage – brought here through great migrations, symbolising wealth, resilience and cultural pride. Their history is etched into our soil, just as our wines are rooted in it today. 

It was one such Nguni that sparked the beginning of our story. In 2009, a farmer loaded twenty Nguni cattle onto a truck bound for auction. By the time he arrived, only nineteen remained. Confused and unsettled, he searched for answers. A week later, his search led him to the door of a wine farmer in the Swartland. He had found a missing cow wandering through his vineyard, feasting on his cabernet sauvignon grapes. Concerned for her wellbeing, with scratches on her legs and a little blood on her head, he had called a vet, and then let her recover in an open field. Piece by piece, the story fell into place. This was the missing cow. She had leapt from the moving truck, landed on the tarmac and against the odds, walked straight into the vineyards, choosing her own path.

From that day, she was named Survivor.

Years later, as friends gathered over a braai and a few glasses of wine, the story resurfaced. A leap of faith. A vineyard. A cow with courage. The perfect name for a new wine brand was born: Survivor Wines. It’s this heritage, and the courage of one remarkable cow, that continues to inspire us. 

Survivor Wines – Bold. Distinct. South African to the core.