Compagniesdrift: A passion for wine, a commitment to people

“We want to produce wines of outstanding quality that will contribute towards creating wealth for the beneficiaries of the Meerlust Workers Trust. We want to change the social dynamic, we want to empower and we want to give our community economic independence.”

For Ilse Ruthford, Managing Director of the Meerlust Workers Trust (MWT) Investments Pty Ltd, trading as Compagniesdrift, a passion for wine and a commitment to the 72 beneficiaries of the Trust are integral to the company’s vision for a sustainable future and economic empowerment of all its employees.

Never heard of Compagniesdrift? Then you’re missing out. Compagniesdrift is a wine storage and labelling company that opened its doors on 1 December 2010 with only 4 wine producers. It is located along the R310 next to Meerlust Wine Estate and derives its name from the wood-beamed causeway (drif in Afrikaans) across the Eerste River. This was once the ox-wagon route (die Kaapse wagenpad) for the Dutch East India Company (or the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie or VOC) in the 17^th century.

Currently commitment has been secured from 55 wine producers to store their wine and more than 2 million bottles are already in the warehouse. The facility is available to local wine producers and offers a cost-effective alternative to those producers who either do not have their own facilities or require transportation of their wine over long distances to acquire such facilities.

And Compagniesdrift has some impressive brands as customers! Blaauwklippen, Tokara, Neil Ellis Wines, Vriesenhof and Meerlust are brands not to be sneezed at.

Compagniesdrift offers a modern temperature-controlled and secure storage facility that has storage capacity for 2,5 million bottles of wine. In-house labelling is also available and the company hopes to offer a bottling facility soon, as well as a tasting room.

But how did it all begin? MWT Investments Pty Ltd t/a Compagniesdrift is a black empowerment business funded by the Myburgh Family Trust, Standard Bank and the Land Reform and Development Programme (LRAD) of the Department of Land Affairs.

The Myburgh Family Trust, owners of Meerlust, identified potential projects that would benefit their farm workers in a meaningful and economically viable way. With a long history of investing in their workforce through the Meerlust Foundation, the family wanted to build on this tradition. This culminated in a R45 million black empowerment business venture to realise this project.

The companies involved, MWT Investments and Faure AgriVillage, are jointly owned (50% each) by the Myburgh Family Trust and the Meerlust Workers Trust, which consists of 72 people with long-standing relationships with the Meerlust, Vriesenhof and Ken Forrester farms around Stellenbosch. The project affords these individuals an opportunity to obtain an interest through the Meerlust Workers Trust in the two companies which will conduct commercial farming as well as business ventures in partnership with Meerlust.

But Compagniesdrift is more than just storage and labelling of wine. Sitting on 65 hectares of land with only 1 hectare currently under hanepoot (a further 33 hectares will ultimately be cultivated to increase production), and another 13 hectares under merlot and cabernet sauvignon on a separate piece of land, it was a just a matter of time before the company introduced its own wines. This happened in May 2015 and was initiated by farm workers with ties to the abovementioned wine farms.

Compagniesdrift’s wines are made by winemaker Altus Treurnicht in the Meerlust cellar next door. The range currently consists of three wines – an Unwooded Chardonnay, a Chardonnay Pinot Noir blend and a barrel-matured Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot blend.

The Compagniesdrift Unwooded Chardonnay 2018 offers vibrant flavours of white pear and apricot with nuances of lemon, and sells for R82.

The 2019 Chardonnay Pinot Noir pleases with flavours of red fruit, cherries and pomegranate. A fresh acidity elevates the fruit profile of this wine that sells for R84.

Compagniesdrift’s 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot has intense flavours of black currant, plum and spice. It has a rich juiciness and soft tannins. It sells for R90.

But Compagniesdrift’s story does not end there! A vegetable garden established in 2014 with proceeds from Ilse Ruthford’s award as the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries’ national Female Entrepreneur of the Year is also part of the company’s growing agricultural initiatives.

As the company’s new website is currently under construction, call 021 843 3913/3902 or send an email to info@compagniesdrift.com for information on the existing wines (and other products) and where to get them. These wines can also be ordered online at www.wine.co.za.

END