The Alsace-based group is France’s greatest wine exporter and the largest non-public winemaker within the nation, with 68 properties unfold throughout the nation.
Additionally it is the most important exporter of French wine, accounting for round one in each six bottles bought in worldwide markets, with manufacturers together with Calvet and J.P. Chenet.
The corporate, whose full identify is Les Grands Chais de France, lately shifted its technique in a bid to grow to be a world wine producer with estates in quite a lot of premium wine areas all over the world.
It lately snapped up Las Niñas in Colchagua, Chile, and it has now moved into Stellenbosch by buying Neethlingshof for an undisclosed sum.
The property has 100ha below vine, and there are plans to plant an additional 27ha over the following two years. Neethlingshof produced 600,000 bottles in 2021, however the group plans to double that to 1.2 million by 2024.
A German settler named Willem Barend Lubbe based the property in 1692, and it modified palms a number of instances within the ensuing years, earlier than the Marais household purchased it in 1788. They added a wine cellar in 1802.
Hans Joachim Schreiber, a German banker, purchased Neethlingshof in 1985, and his household has managed it till now.
It’s famed for producing high-quality, vegan wines, together with The Property vary, The Quick Story Assortment and the 1802 Assortment.
Neethlingshof additionally has a thriving cellar door enterprise, with greater than 30,000 guests annually taking within the surroundings, having fun with tastings and eating within the Salt restaurant.
‘Neethlingshof is one among South Africa’s most historic property with a longtime premium repute for making award-winning wines,’ mentioned Mark Kears, the managing director for the UK and Eire at GCF.
‘We’re very excited to welcome this beautiful South African property into the GCF household. The momentum of GCF’s worldwide journey is choosing up velocity, with this newest vital funding into the New World.’
Alongside its New World growth, GCF has additionally began to unfold its tentacles throughout Europe. Purchases embody Castillo de Aresan in Spain and Danubiana in Hungary.
