Zorgvliet wine Estate History
Zorgvliet Wine Estate was acquired by entrepreneur, Mac van der Merwe, at a public auction on 13 March 2002. Since then the estate has grown into a formidable business offering 5 star services to wine lovers, leisure and business travellers. The wine farm was previously owned by Peter Rhymer who had built up the business when he changed from fruit farming and who left considerable capacity and infrastructure. Zorgvliet is a historic farm which dates back to the 17th centrury.
Zorgvliet dates back to 1692 when it was owned by Casper Wilders who owned several large farms in the area at different times among them Stellengift and the lovely Zorgvliet. Casper Wilders then sold Zorgvliet to Johannes Mulder, the former Landdrost of Stellenbosch.
The farm was transferred to Mulder’s name in 1703 – it is not clear when Johannes and his wife moved into Zorgvliet, but the fact that they drew up their joint will and signed it at Zorgvliet in 1716, would indicate that Zorgvliet was their home at the time.
It appears that Zorgvliet was “a place picked out by the Dutch Government of past times from a vast extent of country for the seat of the Landrost and of the Government of the district of Stellenbosch and is well-known to be in situation, richness of soil, comfort of buildings and many other respects one of the best places in the district.”
Upon Johannes Mulder’s death the farm was transferred to the Burgher Johannes Louw Estate on 08 October 1732. At this stage the 90 000 vines produced 20 leagers of wine – he also grew crops of rye and barley. Seven years later the vines were reduced to 60 000 but still produced the same quantity of wine. He died shortly before 20 March 1770 as an extensive inventory was made of his Estate on this date. Apart from the main dwelling house, there was also a carpenter’s shop, a smithy, a watermill, a wagon-house, a corn-house and a school.
Zorgvliet was transferred from the Estate of Johannes Louw to that of Heemraad Jan de Villiers on 26 June 1770. Zorgvliet’s farming activities seem to have been drastically reduced; the vines were reduced to 30 000 vines from which 40 leagers of wine had been produced. Jan de Villiers died in 1788 at the age of 43 and his wife Anna remarried Petrus Franscois.
According to a joint will drawn up in 1797, it seems Anna and Petrus Franscois remained at Zorgvliet. The property remained in Anna’s first husband’s name until Anna’s own death in 1818 when it was transferred from Jan de Villier’s Estate to Pieter Rossouw’s relative, Frans Daniel Rossouw. Frans Daniel Rossouw was 39 years old when he acquired Zorgvliet. In 1820 there were 100 000 vines from which 162 leagers of wine and 10 leagers of brandy were produced. He died in 1831 – his widow then got married to Estart (Ezard) Grimbeek but Zorgvliet and Nagelegen remained in Rossouw’s name.
Grimbeek’s finances fell into disarray and he became insolvent so Zorgvliet and Nagelegen were sold in 1836 to Ryk Hendrick Myburgh who was the son of Albertus Myburgh, owner of the large farm Meerlust on the Elsies River.
On 26 May 1852 Ryk Myburgh died at Zorgvliet, and the farm passed from his Estate to Christiaan Frederick Beyers. Christiaan Frederick Beyers paid 2 750 Pounds for Zorgvliet and Nagelegen at a public sale on 30 June 1852.
