Nestled in South Africa’s fertile Breede River Valley region, Alvi’s Drift Winery boasts a long and storied history.

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Known for scoring the first try against the All Blacks on African soil back in 1928, the family's patriarch, Albertus Viljoen “Oupa Alvi” van der Merwe commissioned a low-water bridge to be built across the Breede River on our family farm in 1930. Locals named this bridge “Alvi’s Drift”, the name by which it is still known today. Oupa Alvi’s grandson, Alvi’s Drift winemaker Alvi van der Merwe, named the winery after this landmark, honouring both his family's patriarch and the life-giving river that nourishes our vineyards.

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The family's farm network is a busy agricultural centre situated in the Scherpenheuvel wine ward, situated in the cooler southern reaches of the fertile Breede River Valley. Home to approximately 430 hectares of Alvi’s Drift vineyards, the farm also boasts a large commercial dairy, cheese factory, fruit orchards, livestock herds, and free-roaming game. It is also home to three generations of the Van der Merwe family. As custodians of the land, Alvi and Junel van der Merwe are deeply committed to environmental conservation. Through sustainable farming practices, they strive, wherever possible, to give back to the land what is taken from it.