Black Elephant Vintners

South Africa

Some producers let the wine speak for itself. Black Elephant Vintners lets the label do a bit of shouting too, and once you know the story, you understand why. This Franschhoek outfit is the work of three friends, Kevin Swart, Jacques Wentzel and Raymond Ndlovu, who pooled their different backgrounds and decided winemaking should be taken seriously without taking itself too seriously. The name is a play on two of those surnames: Swart and Ndlovu become 'black elephant', and Jacques supplies the 'vintner'. It's a small joke that tells you a lot about how this team thinks. They call themselves the Rebels of the Vine, a loose, collaborative team who work off good music and better instincts as much as convention. That irreverence shows up everywhere, from wine names like 'Three Men in a Tub With a Rubber Duck' to 'The Fox & The Flamingo', but underneath the whimsy is proper, considered winemaking. Fruit comes from vineyard sites scattered across the Franschhoek valley, with cooler parcels from Elgin, on the Cape coast, brought in specifically for their Méthode Cap Classique. That reach across warmer valley floor and cool coastal sites gives them options most single-vineyard producers don't have. We stock Black Elephant Vintners because South African wine doesn't need to be earnest to be excellent. Alongside the structured, serious reds of Stellenbosch, it's worth remembering the Cape also produces winemakers who want you to smile before you even pull the cork. The wines back up the joke: bright, well-made Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc, a savoury red blend with real character, and a Zero Dosage MCC that shows genuine technical skill behind the playful branding. If you've only ever associated Franschhoek with fine dining and formal tasting rooms, this is the other side of the valley: same quality, same sense of place, considerably more fun in the telling.

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The Black Elephant Vintners Story

Black Elephant Vintners began as an idea between three friends in Franschhoek: Kevin Swart, Jacques Wentzel and Raymond Ndlovu, each bringing a different skill set to the table. The name itself was born from a bit of wordplay, stitching together Swart and Ndlovu to form 'Black Elephant', with Jacques standing in as the vintner of the trio. It set the tone for everything that followed: clever, a little cheeky, never taking the wine world's usual solemnity too seriously.

From the outset, the three worked as a genuinely collaborative team rather than a single winemaker with assistants, styling themselves the Rebels of the Vine. That name reflects a working culture built around good music and shared decision-making, drawing on Franschhoek's valley fruit for the bulk of the range while reaching further afield to Elgin, on the cooler Cape coast, for the fruit destined for their Méthode Cap Classique.

The range grew wine by wine, each one given a name with a story behind it rather than a straightforward varietal label. 'Two Dogs a Peacock and a Horse' Sauvignon Blanc, 'Three Men in a Tub With a Rubber Duck' red blend, 'The Fox & The Flamingo' Rosé and 'The Power of Love' Chenin Blanc all carry the same sense of humour, bottled under Wine of Origin Franschhoek and Western Cape.

What hasn't changed is the underlying intent: serious winemaking wrapped in wines that don't demand you speak in hushed tones to enjoy them. Black Elephant Vintners has built its identity on that contrast, proving that a producer can be playful on the label and precise in the glass at the same time.

Winemaking Philosophy

Black Elephant Vintners don't take themselves too seriously, but they take the wine in the glass very seriously indeed. Three friends with different skills, one shared idea: winemaking should have a sense of humour without losing sight of quality. They call themselves the Rebels of the Vine, and there's a genuine playfulness in how they work, from the names on the label to the music playing in the cellar during harvest.

That playfulness is backed by careful sourcing. Rather than relying on a single estate, the team draws fruit from vineyard sites scattered across the Franschhoek valley, each contributing something different to the blend. For their Méthode Cap Classique, they look further afield to Elgin, a cool-climate pocket near the coast where slower ripening builds the fine acidity and precision that good sparkling wine needs.

This site-by-site approach means each wine is built rather than simply made. Fruit is selected for what it brings to the final blend, whether that's freshness, texture, or structure, and the winemaking itself stays fairly hands-off, letting the character of each parcel come through rather than masking it with heavy oak or over-manipulation.

The result is a range of wines that are genuinely characterful: fresh, expressive, and easy to enjoy, but made with real technical care underneath the whimsy. It's an approach that suits Franschhoek well, a valley long associated with tradition, now home to producers willing to have a bit of fun with it.