Rwandan entrepreneur buys historic Cape wine farm
Wednesday, 18 July, 2001
Mont Rochelle
Rwandan entrepreneur buys historic Cape wine farm - Mont Rochelle
A Rwandan telecommunications entrepreneur Miko Rwayitare has bought the historic Franschhoek wine farm Mont Rochelle for R17m from Graham de Villiers, making him the first black owner of a Cape wine farm, according to André Morgenthal of Wines of South Africa (WOSA).
The seller, a previous chairman of WOSA, is an eighth-generation descendant of French Huguenot, Jacques de Villiers, the first Huguenot to plant vines in the Franschhoek Valley over 300 years ago. Graham de Villiers was one of the prime movers in the establishment of the Vignerons de Franchhoek wine route, which has seen the district become one of the top winelands destinations in the Cape and a favourite of foreigners.
*The 33 ha farm, which has 9ha under vines, includes a manor house built in the 1840s in the traditional Cape Dutch style. Currently the estate produces five wines made by Justin Hoy, who is being retained as winemaker, along with farm manager Alwyn Geldenhuys.
Rwayitare is the owner and founder of Telecel, the biggest mobile telephone business in Africa, operating in 14 countries on the continent, including South Africa. Presently living in Johannesburg, he plans to use Mont Rochelle as his Western Cape base. He also hopes to make one of South Africa’s top ten red wines on Mont Rochelle together with Hoy.
Morgenthal said Rwayitare was to his knowledge also the first African outside this country to have bought a wine farm at the Cape.