Estate motto
Site specific, single vineyard wines.
Rivergold Private Cellar
Meet the Winemaker
Lourens van der Westhuizen’s journey with wine started as a youngster, playing on his imaginary farm in his mother’s garden. His passion was ignited at Elsenburg Agricultural College, when he was exposed to vineyard practices and winemaking while studying Agriculture.
After winemaking stints in California, Burgundy and Champagne, he came to back to the family farm to fulfil this passion. As Rivergold is right next to Lourens’ farm Arendsig, we are lucky and grateful to have someone at the helm that is so intimately familiar with the terroir.
Lourens’ winemaking philosophy is terroir-driven: allowing the soil to “speak” through the vineyards, and to make wine using minimal human intervention methods. “I am a custodian of the earth” he says. The youngster has come full circle….
About the Winery
The farm Wolvendrift was purchased in 2008 by the Naidoo family and named Rivergold, reminiscent of the sun reflecting on the river.
Rivergold primarily focuses on premium Merlot and Chenin under the Reserve range, (93 points Tim Atkins and 95 points Winemag) and also produces excellent Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Shiraz under the Rivergold range.
The Rivergold philosophy is to focus on site specific, single vineyard wines that expresses the terroir, resulting in rich and elegant wines.