By Vusi Dalicuba, Vergenoegd Löw winemaker
When people ask me what makes our wines at Vergenoegd Löw different, I say this: you can taste the sea and our soil. Not literally, of course, but the influence is there in every bottle. From the cooling winds to the ancient limestone soils, there’s a coastal energy that shapes everything we do. It’s something we’ve come to call merroir – terroir with a maritime signature.
I joined Vergenoegd Löw at a time when we were redefining everything. The estate has a winemaking history that stretches back nearly 330 years, but in 2017 (ahead of me arriving in 2021), the team began replanting all of our vineyards from the ground up. This wasn’t about chasing trends. It was about understanding our land and aligning with its potential.
Sustainable farming
We also started maximising our advantages and now farm 100% regeneratively with multi crops and animals. We keep Indian Runner ducks, geese and chickens (that eat the pests) as well as Dexter cattle and Dohne Merino sheep (that eat the weeds). In a nutshell: They fertilise the soils.
By enriching the life and biodiversity of the soil, we grow strong, resilient vines that give healthy, well-ripened grapes. That’s why in the cellar, we “follow the grapes”, letting them decide how they should be handled. It’s a low intervention approach.
Every wine in the range expresses respect for heritage and traditional ways of farming for vineyard health and sustainability. But we infuse these historic ways with fresh, dynamic and progressive thinking. This approach to viticulture, where we rely increasingly on nature, gives the grapes a chance to take centre-stage in the cellar. Our way of viticulture is to let the grapes guide us. Not the other way round.
Why replant?
When German entrepreneur and heritage specialist Prof Dr Dr Peter Löw, took ownership in 2015, he invested deeply in the land, the people, and the long-term future of this historic site. That meant starting fresh in the vineyards. Every cultivar was chosen based on its suitability to our unique location, just five kilometres from False Bay, and planted according to soil type, aspect, and wind exposure.
Replanted from 2017, Vergenoegd Löw’s have been vineyards tailored to maximise site expression.
We focused on Bordeaux reds like Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and made Chardonnay our flagship white. These varieties thrive here, not in spite of the ocean and our limestone soils, but because of it.
What coastal terroir means in the cellar
Our vineyards lie on an ancient seabed, full of lime-rich granitic and sandstone soils. They’re dense with fossils, and it’s not just a geological curiosity – it directly impacts the wine. These soils give us structure, tension, and mineral clarity, especially in our whites. Combine that with ocean breezes and cooler-than-average temperatures, and we get slower ripening, better acid retention, and incredible aromatic lift.
Coastal wines are shaped by ocean breezes, limestone soils, and extended ripening seasons.
I see it especially in our Cabernet Sauvignon. There’s dark fruit and structure, yes, but also finesse – a savoury edge, lifted acidity, and length without heaviness. In our Chardonnay, you get chalky minerality, citrus tension, and this whisper of salt air that grounds it in place.
The influence of the ocean on red wine? Finesse, freshness, and a savoury edge.
How does the ocean affect white wine? It preserves acidity, adds minerality, and boosts aromatic lift.
Merroir: More than a buzzword
We talk a lot about terroir in the wine world. But here, we needed a word that captures how deeply the ocean shapes our identity. So we started saying merroir or when talking about our region; Stellenbosch-by-the-Sea.
It’s playful, yes, but it’s accurate. The Eerste River runs through the estate and floods seasonally, echoing Bordeaux’s Garonne. Our site is flat, low-lying, and deeply affected by water, both salt and fresh.
Merroir is our way of recognising how the sea leaves its signature in every glass.
What I love most is how this translates in the cellar. Our viticulture is detailed, so we can keep our winemaking minimal. We follow the fruit, not the recipe. Low-intervention doesn’t mean hands-off. It means understanding what the vineyard wants to say, and letting it speak clearly.
Tasting merroir for yourself
You can taste this story where it begins: at our 1773 Homestead or Vintage Room, located close-by in the werf. Whether you choose a classic tasting or our popular Indigenous Experience – where we pair the wines with heritage flavours like amasi, spekboom and bokkom – you’re getting a direct connection to the land and sea.
Some wines to look out for:
• Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon: layered, structured, and elegant, with freshness at its core
• Stellenbosch Merlot: plush, pure, and succulent, shaped by limestone and breeze
• Stellenbosch Chardonnay: citrus, chalk, and a coastal whisper
And our fabulous Florian Shiraz, of course. We’re currently offering a rare vertical tasting of the estate’s spanning four distinctive vintages, from 2018 to 2022.
A guided experience, it highlights the evolving elegance of the wine, revealing subtle vintage variation alongside the consistent hallmarks of the farm’s merroir. Each vintage offers something different – from the spice-laced juiciness of the 2018 to the poised and smoky restraint of the current 2022 release.
Priced at R165 per person, this special tasting is offered at the Vintage Room until 30 August 2025. All current-release wines are also available to taste and purchase here.
By the way, our Heritage Circle members enjoy 20% off wine purchases, just one more reason to keep the story flowing.
Connection and authenticity
As a winemaker, I believe the best wines are the ones that feel connected – to a place, to a process, to a purpose. That’s what we’re building at Vergenoegd Löw. Not just coastal wines, but wines that express this rare intersection of ocean, time, soil, and soul.
These are wines that taste like where they come from. Calm, coastal, and complete.
So the next time you wonder what defines a coastal wine or how the ocean shapes a vineyard, you won’t just find an answer, you’ll find it in your glass.
Cheers,