“My philosophy is to create great single vineyard wines from unique soil, climate and location. It’s the soil with all the microbes, cycle of elements and the help of living organisms that create the heartbeat for my vines. The vineyards location in relation to the sun and wind direction, as well as a holistically favourable climate, influences the expression of each block.”
Our Wines
All my Single Vineyard Wines are made with minimal interference throughout the vinification. During fermentation natural yeasts are used with no enzymes. Maturation takes place in neutral vessels to bring through the unique vineyard characteristics, that’s specific to the site.
The handcrafted approach by human nature helps to add to the final balance of this unique product
Accommodation
Arendsig Wine Farm offers accommodation in 4 well-equipped, self-catering farm cottages. The cottages are situated between the Single Vineyard Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards, 100m from the Breede River. This tranquil setting makes for the ideal weekend get-away or family holiday – only 155km from Cape Town.
Weddings & Functions
Arendsig is the perfect venue to accommodate your dream wedding.
“All of my single vineyard blocks are terroir driven”
My journey since 2004
About Lourens van der Westhuizen
“I grew up on this family-owned farm, where cherished memories were created and future dreams took root. Running barefoot and playing on my imaginary farm in my mom’s garden sparked an imaginative journey that eventually led to the creation of Arendsig as it stands today.”
After finishing High School in Robertson, I enrolled at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology to study Agriculture. The course included a year and a half of studies at Elsenburg Agricultural College in Stellenbosch. It was at Elsenburg that I was exposed to vineyard practices and winemaking which ignited my passion and love for what I can now call my own business and occupation. A custodian of the earth I am blessed to farm, grow the grapes and turn my passion into wine. After completing my studies, I harvested at Glen Carlou for a season. After harvest at Glen Carlou, I traveled to America and undertook an internship in Santa Rosa, California at Copain Custom Crush. Following the internship, I went to Burgundy, Beaune, where I participated in a harvest. In 2003, I returned to our fifth-generation farm and became the first winemaker.
The more one sees and experiences, the more a person can learn. Different people, different cultures all enjoying good food and excellent wine and simply enjoying and living life to the fullest
I was one of the more fortunate people in that I could return to our family farm as a fifth generation farmer. I decided to make it a challenge and became the first generation winemaker to make his own wine on this farm. The year 2004 was the beginning of new and better things. My dad, Frikkie van der Westhuizen, permitted me to select small parcels of grapes from his old Shiraz and Chardonnay vineyards. This gave me the opportunity to begin Arendsig Handcrafted wines. In the very same year my dad gave me an untouched part of the farm – on the slopes (all virgin soils). We worked for 4 months to prepare these soils, we knew this would be the future of Arendsig wines.
There was no soil, only rocks. Our goal was to make single vineyard wines, from single vineyards of exceptional quality. My own wines are all from one specific Block and are expressed by the Terrior.
Arendsig Single Vineyard Estate – Since 2004
Estate Soil
The soil belongs to the Bokkeveld group, which was deposited under marine conditions during the Devonian period (approximately 390-340 million years ago). This results in a high salinity and rich mineral content. The terrain is rocky with shallow soil, often with little or no soil present.
Climate
The slope aspects include East, West, South, and North. During the growing season, the diurnal temperature averages 15°C. The warmest month has an average maximum temperature of 30.82°C and an average minimum temperature of 14.43°C. The area receives an average annual rainfall of 240mm and is classified as semi-arid.
Location
Arendsig is located on the Stormsvlei Road R317 Robertson, within the Southern Appellation of Bonnievale. It is situated 78 kilometers from the nearest coastline.
