Overview

Pierre (la) Grange’s great grandson, Joseph le Grange, was the first le Grange to settle on Angeliersbosch farm (now named Fernskloof) around 1820. His grandson, also named Joseph, was born in 1841.

He was the first le Grange to commercially plant vines, and also established a small winery, mainly used for distillation to make brandy.

Wine making then took place on the farm for two generations, but was sadly stopped, as other farming practices were pursued. Although they discontinued the winemaking, the winery was still used as a farm shed.

To this day, clear splatter- and fingermarks are visible on the wooden beams of this building – this is also the very building in which our wines are made today.

Vines were again planted on the farm in 1994. Grapes were first sold to other wineries, until 2010, when the first Fernskloof wines were made by Diederik le Grange, of the 7^th generation on the farm.

The name, Fernskloof, derives from a beautiful kloof on the farm, complete with dripping water, ferns, and stalactites – in stark contrast with the otherwise dry environment of the Great Karoo.

Diederik is behind the winemaking and viticulture. After graduating in viticulture and oenology at the University of Stellenbosch, he worked harvests in Australia, America, Uruguay, France, and New Zealand.