The De Groote Vlakte story
The farm De Groote Vlakte was established on 3 November 1835. Over time the original farm was divided into a number of smaller farms which were eventually sold to people outside of the Botha family.
In 1930, Swartrivier, a portion of the original farm still in family hands, was almost lost to them when it came under the hammer at an estate auction of the great grandfather of current the owner, AB Rossouw. AB's grandfather dearly wanted to buy the farm but only owned a horse and the clothes on his back. At the auction, his cousin known as "Oom Hendrik Rooibul", said he will help him with a loan if he wanted to buy the farm. Due to uncle Hendrik's assistance, AB has had the joy of growing wine grapes on Swartrivier since 1984, the 6th generation on the farm
In 2015 I successfully managed to make 165 bottles of wine, my first attempt. At the moment we produce about 1000 wine liter per year. Durif, also known as Petite Sirah, is my favorite cultivar - AB Rossouw
