In the Footsteps of Baronets
History has always fascinated me, and that – combined with my love of wine – means that De Grendel Wine Estate in Durbanville holds a very special place in my heart. With one of the most sensational views of Cape Town, not to mention one of the most delicious Chardonnays, I would happily spend my days sitting on the sunny terrace at De Grendel watching the daily workings of my favourite city. But sometimes I wonder just what this view would have looked like all those years ago, when Sir David Pieter de Villiers Graaff, the first baronet of De Grendel, bought this land?
Where It All Started
The story of De Grendel – both of the farm and of the farm’s owners – is fascinating. Sir David Graaff started out his life on a smallholding in the Overberg and, through grit and hard work (things that can still be seen as integral to the De Grendel brand), established himself as an astute businessman in the bustling city that Cape Town was in the 1890s. Born out of a rare love-match, Sir David Graaff blazed a trail that many wished they could follow – politically, economically and socially. At the tender age of 23, he was elected as a Cape Town city councillor and then went on to be mayor at the age of 32. Originally making a name for himself in cold-storage, his true passion was for horses, and so begins the story of De Grendel the farm.
Purchased by Sir David Graaff, De Grendel was the perfect place to build a stable to house his prized Arabian horses, which he had imported at great expense. Ever an astute businessman, he went on to purchase a number of the neighbouring farms until he had amassed an estate so large that it stretched from De Grendel to Paarden
Eiland – even going as far as what is today the Ascot Racecourse in Milnerton.
Sir David Graaff donated regularly to charities that aimed to increase the level of education among the younger generations in the Cape. At the founding of the Union of South Africa, he was a member of General Louis Botha’s first cabinet. In 1911, he was awarded a baronetcy and two years later, he married Eileen van Heerden, the first Lady Graaff, and the De Grendel dynasty began to grow.
A Worthy Successor
The second Baronet, Sir De Villiers Graaff, affectionately known as “Div”, succeeded to the position of head of the family in 1931. After studying at Oxford, he practised as an advocate of the Supreme Court of South Africa. He served in North Africa during WWI and was even taken prisoner at Tobruk.
Sir Div famously made a royal faux pas when Queen Elizabeth, then a princess, visited South Africa in 1947. He danced with Her Royal Highness at her 21st birthday party without wearing gloves – as a “commoner”, he was expected to wear gloves when dancing with royalty. Despite this, he was known as the first gentleman of politics, and led the parliamentary opposition to Apartheid – all while being impeccably well-dressed. The M1, one of the main highways in Johannesburg, was named the De Villiers Graaff motorway in his honour.
The Winemaking Visionary
The third baronet, the current baronet’s father, was a larger-than-life wine-lover and far more than your average estate owner. He had a passionate love for the farm that had been in his family for generations. Fondly remembered as a story-teller – and perhaps a healthy share of wild exaggeration – Sir David Graaff studied Agriculture at Stellenbosch University and then discovered his love of
winemaking at the University of Grenoble. He served as a Member of Parliament for Wynberg and was made Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry in FW de Klerk’s government in 1991. He retired after the 1999 elections and planted the first vines on De Grendel farm. Shortly thereafter, he built the wine cellar. And so started the next chapter of De Grendel, as a wine farm.
A Modern Thinker
After the passing of his father in 2015, the current baronet took over the reins and has since taken De Grendel from strength to strength. Following in the footsteps of his father, Sir De Villiers Graaff is an enthusiastic wine-lover and is responsible for the opening of De Grendel’s onsite restaurant in 2012. With this generation, De Grendel entered a phase of development and revolutionised their offering. The onsite restaurant is now as well-regarded as the estate’s wines and the two work in perfect harmony. The menu features familiar ingredients prepared in new and exciting ways, with every dish pairing expertly with a specific De Grendel wine.
Various other projects debuted by the present baronet include a solar farm, blueberry farming, reintroducing indigenous game (including eland and bontebok) to the property, and the creation of their delicious Three Spades premium cider.
Experiencing De Grendel is to walk where giants have walked, and to look at the same views that inspired this remarkable family to create magic on the picturesque hillsides of Durbanville.
For more information, please visit www.degrendel.co.za.