Val de Vie Estate (Fr Valley of Life) is a secure, luxury residential and outdoor lifestyle estate occupying situated between

Stellenbosch Stellenbosch (; )A Universal Pronounc ...

Paarl Paarl (; Afrikaans: ; derived from ''Parel'', meaning "pearl" in Dutch) is a town with 112,045 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is the third-oldest city and European settlement in the Republic of South Africa (after ...

and

Franschhoek Franschhoek (; Afrikaans for "French Corner", Dutch spelling before 1947 ''Fransche Hoek'') is a small town in the Western Cape Province and one of the oldest towns in South Africa. Formerly known as Oliphants hoek (as there were vast groups of e ...

in the

Cape Winelands The Boland (Afrikaans for "top country" or "land above") is a region of the Western Cape province of South Africa, situated to the northeast of Cape Town in the middle and upper courses of the Berg and Breede Rivers, around the Boland Mountains ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. The estate encompasses various neighbourhoods each with its own characteristics, surrounded by vineyards, polo fields, natural fynbos vegetation, parks, lakes and mountains. The estate is known for its world-class polo facilities,

Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), nicknamed The Golden Bear, is a retired American professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest go ...

Signature

Golf Course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...

, mountain bike trails and L’Huguenot wine cellar. Home to the “Safest House in Africa”, Val de Vie Estate has been named the number one residential estate in South Africa by New World Wealth for 5 consecutive years from 2015 to 2019. Val de Vie Estate has also received awards for the Best Individual Residence in South Africa (2019), best Multigenerational Resort in the World (2018), Best Residential Development in South Africa (2020), as well as both Best Leisure Development in the World and Best Residential Development in South Africa, at the 2021 International Property Awards, and was placed in the top 10 lifestyle estates in the world for 2021 by New World Wealth.

History

The estate encompasses farmland granted by the Governor of the Cape to

French Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Bez ...

Abraham Andries le Roux in 1783 at a time when the Paarl-Franschhoek region was producing the highest volume of wine in South Africa. Founder Martin Venter bought the land in 2003 and the first homes were built in 2007. In 2016 African Rainbow Capital acquired a 20% stake in Val de Vie Investments. In 2015 Val de Vie and a consortium of partners acquired the adjacent Pearl Valley Golf & Country Estate from Standard Bank, after Pearl Valley went into business rescue. The Competition Commission approved acquisition included the entire first phase of Pearl Valley, the Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course, the clubhouse, a hotel site on which the Mantis Collection Pearl Valley Hotel would be developed, a 20 hectare equestrian farm, approximately 80 serviced and unsold plots as well as 150 un-serviced residential plots.

Security

Val de Vie Estate was voted “Safest Estate in Africa”, and is home to the “Safest House in Africa”.

Awards

In 2019, New World Wealth's research ranked Val de Vie 'South Africa's Top Residential Estate' for the fifth consecutive year. Best Single Unit Residential Development in Africa (The Valentia Manor House) - 2016 International Property Awards in Dubai. Pearl Valley was rated by Golf Digest in South Africa’s Top 5 for 2018 and 2019 and the best conditioned golf course in the Western Cape. Val de Vie Estate was awarded the 'Best Multigenerational Resort in the World' in 2018 at The Globals ceremony in London on 8 November 2018. At the 2020 International Property Awards, Val de Vie won the award for 'Best Residential Development in South Africa' and Val de Vie Evergreen won the award for 'Best Leisure Development in Africa'. At the 2021 International Property Awards, Val de Vie won awards for both 'Best Leisure Development in the World' and 'Best Residential Development in South Africa'. New World Wealth placed Val de Vie in the top 10 lifestyle estates in the world for 2021

Sports

Golf

The Pearl Valley

Signature

is rated by Golf Digest in South Africa’s Top 5 for 2018 and 2019 as well as rated the best conditioned golf course in the Western Cape. South Africa's Top 100 Courses rate Pearl Valley the number one golf course in the Western Cape and place it second nationwide.

Polo

Val de Vie Estate is the only residential Polo estate in South Africa and the venue for the annual

Veuve Clicquot Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin () is a Champagne house founded in 1772 and based in Reims. It is one of the largest Champagne houses. Madame Clicquot is credited with major breakthroughs, creating the first known vintage champagne in 1810, and i ...

Masters Polo Cape Town. The 2009 event attracted more than 3 000 spectators. The sixth

Sentebale Sentebale is a registered charity founded in 2006 by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho. Sentebale helps children and adolescents struggling to come to terms with their HIV status. It provides a safe environment for them t ...

Royal Salute Polo Cup was played at Val de Vie Estate, His Royal Highness

Prince Harry Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. He is the younger son of Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. He is fifth in the line of succ ...

participated. Val de Vie Estate is the host for the

Polo Series 2019/2020.

Cycling

In 2017 the Estate became the official Grand Finale venue, the Champs-Elysées of the 700 km

Absa Cape Epic The Absa Cape Epic, founded by Kevin Vermaak and also known as the Cape Epic, is an annual mountain bike stage race held in the Western Cape, South Africa. First staged in 2004, it has been accredited as ''hors catégorie'' (beyond categoriza ...

. The 17th edition will take place from 15 to 22 March 2020. The

is the largest full-service mountain bike stage race in the world and the only eight-day mountain bike stage race classed as

hors catégorie ''Hors catégorie'' (HC) is a French term used in stage bicycle races to designate a climb that is "beyond categorization". The term was originally used for those mountain roads where cars were not expected to be able to pass. The HC climb is the ...

by the

Union Cycliste Internationale The ''Union Cycliste Internationale'' (UCI; ; en, International Cycling Union) is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland. The UCI issues racing ...

(UCI).

Events

An open-air concert by

Andrea Bocelli Andrea Bocelli (; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor and multi-instrumentalist. He was born visually impaired, with congenital glaucoma, and at the age of 12, Bocelli became completely blind, following a brain hemorrhage resulting fro ...

and the

Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra The Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO) is an orchestra based in Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa. History Founded by the Cape Town City Council, the Cape Town Municipal Orchestra held its inaugural concert on 28 February 1914 in the ...

attracted an audience of 12 000. Boyzone Irish singer

Ronan Keating Ronan Patrick John Keating (born 3 March 1977) is an Irish singer. He debuted in 1993 alongside Keith Duffy, Michael Graham, Shane Lynch, and Stephen Gately, as the co-lead singer (with Gately) of Irish pop group Boyzone. His solo career start ...

and Grand Slam golf veteran

Gary Player Gary James Player DMS, OIG (born 1 November 1935) is a South African retired professional golfer who is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. During his career, Player won nine major championships on the regular tou ...

hosted a charity event at Val de Vie raising R1 433 000 for The Gary Player Foundation and the

Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa was opened in 1956 through public subscription as a memorial to soldiers lost in the Second World War. The suggestion that the memorial take the form of a children's hospital w ...

Oncology Unit.

Wine

The history of winemaking on the estate dates back to the 17th Century when

Abraham Andries le Roux employed his expertise in

viticulture Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...

. L’Huguenot Vinoteque currently produces the Val de Vie and Polo Club labels. Val de Vie started producing Rhône-style wines in 2006, and is now the most comprehensive grower of Rhône varietals outside of France. A Chinese company, Perfect China, invested in the Val de Vie L'Huguenot wine estate, buying the 62 acre (25-hectare) wine farm with of vineyards. . The under vine produce a variety of cultivars:

Roussanne Roussanne is a white wine grape grown originally in the Rhône wine region in France, where it is often blended with Marsanne. It is the only other white variety, besides Marsanne, allowed in the northern Rhône appellations of Crozes-Hermitage A ...

Ugni Blanc Trebbiano is an Italian wine grape, one of the most widely planted grape varieties in the world. It gives good yields, but tends to yield undistinguished wine. It can be fresh and fruity, but does not keep long. Also known as ugni blanc, it h ...

Durif Durif is a variety of red wine grape primarily grown in Australia, California, France, and Israel. Since the end of the 20th century, wineries located in Washington's Yakima River Valley, Maryland, Arizona, Texas, West Virginia, Chile, Mexico' ...

Cinsaut Cinsaut or Cinsault ( ) is a red wine grape whose heat tolerance and productivity make it important in Languedoc-Roussillon and the former French colonies of Algeria, Lebanon, and Morocco. It is often blended with grapes such as Grenache and Ca ...

, Mourvedre,

Shiraz Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As o ...

Carignan Carignan (also known as Mazuelo, Bovale Grande, Cariñena, Carinyena, Samsó, Carignane, and Carignano) is a red grape variety of Spanish origin that is more commonly found in French wine but is widely planted throughout the western Mediterra ...

Viognier Viognier () is a white wine grape variety. It is the only permitted grape for the French wine Condrieu in the Rhône Valley.J. Robinson ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'' Third Edition pg 754 Oxford University Press 2006 Outside of the Rhôn ...

Clairette Blanche Clairette blanche is a white wine grape variety most widely grown in the wine regions of Provence wine, Provence, Rhône (wine region), Rhône and Languedoc wine, Languedoc in France. At the end of the 1990s, there were of Clairette blanche g ...

Grenache Blanc Grenache blanc (also known as garnatxa blanca in Catalonia) is a variety of white wine grape that is related to the red grape Grenache. It is mostly found in Rhône wine blends and in northeast Spain. Its wines are characterized by high alcohol a ...

Grenache Noir Grenache () or Garnacha () is one of the most widely planted red wine grape varieties in the world. Niels Lillelund: ''Rhône-Vinene'' p. 25, JP Bøger – JP/Politikens Forlagshus A/S, 2004. . It ripens late, so it needs hot, dry conditi ...

and

Merlot Merlot is a dark blue–colored wine grape variety, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of ''merle'', the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the ...

. The winery produces 5000 cases per annum. The signature Val de Vie wine, is named after the Olympic Swimming Record Holder and Val de Vie Group Marketing Director,

Ryk Neethling Ryk Neethling OIS (born 17 November 1977) is a South African businessman who rose to prominence as the three-times World Champion and four-times World Record Breaking Olympic swimming champion. He is known as one of the most accomplished swim ...

Biodiversity and conservation

As a major part of the

Berg River The Berg River (also called Great Berg River or in Afrikaans: Bergrivier) is a river located just north of Cape Town in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. It is approximately 294 km (183 mi) long with a catchment area of 7,715& ...

valley falls within the Cape Floral Kingdom (a proclaimed

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

) the developers worked closely with the Western Cape Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning to preserve, protect, enhance, restore, manage and sustain the natural assets. A game reserve is home to endangered species like the

Cape Grysbok The Cape or southern grysbok (''Raphicerus melanotis'') is a small antelope that is endemic to the Western Cape region of South Africa between Albany and the Cederberg mountains. Description left, Illustrated in ''The Book of Antelopes'' (18 ...

. Over 100 species of protected

fynbos Fynbos (; meaning fine plants) is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. This area is predominantly coastal and mountainous, with a Mediterranean clim ...

flourish in dedicated environmentally sensitive areas. Val de Vie Estate is home to over 50 avian species, including Cape Canaries,

Greater Striped Swallow The greater striped swallow (''Cecropis cucullata'') is a large swallow that is native to Africa south of the equator. Taxonomy The greater striped swallow was described by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1780 in h ...

and

Rock Martin The rock martin (''Ptyonoprogne fuligula'') is a small passerine bird in the swallow family that is resident in central and southern Africa. It breeds mainly in the mountains, but also at lower altitudes, especially in rocky areas and around town ...

s, Whiterumped Swift and

White-throated Swallow The white-throated swallow (''Hirundo albigularis'') is a small bird in the swallow family. It is a common species, found in southern Africa, which has benefited from the increased nesting opportunities presented by the construction of bridges a ...

African Paradise Flycatcher The African paradise flycatcher (''Terpsiphone viridis'') is a medium-sized passerine bird. The two central tail feathers of the male are extended into streamers that commonly are more than twice as long as the body. The female tail feathers are ...

Kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

s and Black Duck. The 7 km biodiversity corridor along the

is the second largest in the Western Cape and part of the Cape Floral Kingdom.

Foundation

The Val de Vie Foundation supports the local community with contributions to education, welfare and social/sporting development and other charitable initiatives. It is funded through 1% of land sales and 5% of new home levies. Between 2017 and 2019 The Foundation invested R13.4m in forty organisationsvaldeviefoundation.co.za
retrieved 19 April 2020

References

External links

Val de Vie official website
{{coord, 33, 48, 33.36, S, 18, 58, 4.72, E, display=inline,title Real estate companies of South Africa Golf clubs and courses in South Africa Golf clubs and courses designed by Jack Nicklaus Polo venues Equestrian sports in South Africa Cape Epic Wineries of South Africa Wine companies Resorts in South Africa Economy of the Western Cape