A different model

Monday, February 18th, 2013

Two to three years in the realisation, a wine farm in Stellenbosch’s Devon Valley is shaping a new model after undergoing a renaissance.

Former businessman Tom Breytenbach was involved in property retail and concedes that there are any number of reasons why it was not a smart move for him to buy a wine farm in the midst of both a global economic recession and a particularly challenging period for the South African wine community.

With wife Hayley’s experience in asset management to support his entrepreneurial bent, he believes his background and different perspective affords him the opportunity of starting with a fresh slate. Brenaissance is more than just a wine farm – it’s a mixed farming operation. Breytenbach is quite honest about the fact that most of the farm’s income will be derived from its herd of stud Boran cattle rather than from wine. “But the Boran allows me to live the dream and the lifestyle of farming and making wine.” He’s crunched the numbers and is fully aware that the amount of money to be made per hectare of grapes only just matches – and in many cases falls short of – the input costs.

So what are Brenaissance’s alternative revenue streams? Firstly, there’s a 200-seater wedding chapel and functions venue which has already proved popular – for conferences, parties and events as well as nuptials. Secondly, there’s a café with beer on tap and a wood-fired oven which churns out crispy-based pizzas. Week on week, the parking lot gets fuller as the wood of mouth spreads. And there is farm-stay accommodation for 18.

When it comes to wine, the range is restricted to what’s grown on the farm – so there’s a Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Shiraz, two red blends, a Merlot and a Cabernet Sauvignon. One of the things he won’t do is build a winery or employ a single winemaker. “My experience in property has taught me that it’s better to source the best people for different elements of a project.” So that means his Sauvignon Blanc, red blends, Shiraz and Cabernet are all made by different winemakers in separate wineries. These include Jasper Raats of Longridge, Charl Coetzee of Babylonstoren, Nico Grobler of Eikendal and Billy Marklew of Marklew wines.

And then there are the cattle… Boran is a breed of beef cattle with a bloodline which has not been sullied by cross breeding for more than 1300 years. They look somewhat similar to the Brahman breed with their distinctive neck humps, big dewlaps and droopy ears but they’re heavier and can pack on a lot of meat. Breytenbach points to Brigadier, his 14-month-old bull penned on the lawn for a media launch. He weighs in at 450kg and his 9-month-old pen-mate tipped the scales at 200kg.

“Pound for pound, if you were to eat them, these particular animals would cost you more than caviar,” said Hayley. That’s because they’re on the 116-hectare Devon Valley farm purely for their DNA and bloodlines. Boran is highly sought after and with 33 beasts, the Breytenbachs are intent on filling the niche.

Each Boran cow can produce a total of 80 eggs a year, while occupying just half a hectare of land. Fertilised with Brigadier’s sperm and then transplanted into another surrogate cow – usually Angus – a full blood Boran is then the result of that egg harvest. With the demand for the offspring being so high, each cow is capable of adding one million rand to the farm’s bottom line every year.

Not only are they assisting in diversifying the farm’s revenue stream, but they are crucial to the farm’s sustainability – grazing in the vineyards and keeping weeds down, so reducing the need for pesticides. Another benefit is the in-situ composting and fertilising service they provide.

“Everything we do is geared to allowing us to make the best wine we can off this property – and we believe we’re living the dream,” was Breytenbach’s summation.

– Fiona McDonald