ALVI'S DRIFT

Alvi’s Drift is a 7000 tonne winery in the Breede River Valley. The winery is owned by the Van Der Merwe family, Bertie Van Der Merwe along with his 2 sons, Johan a lawyer, and Alvi, a medical doctor who has been on the property for many years. Alvi’s Drift is the name of the drift near the farm, crossing the Breede river. The Drift was built by Alvi’s grandfather in 1928.

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The winery is only one part of a long running and successful business. The property is vast and diverse with a large dairy herd and facilities for the commercial packaging of milk, a cheese making facility, a piggery, citrus, stone fruit, fodder production as well as the 410ha of vines. Johan manages the dairy and piggery and Alvi manages the orchards and winery.

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Their vineyards are grown using a philosophy of sustainability and minimal intervention and are fertilized with natural compost produced on the farm. Vineyards are meticulously managed to optimize quality. Grapes are selectively hand harvested to ensure only healthy, ripe bunches are used for production.