Le Bonheur

History

The history of Le Bonheur - formerly known as Oude Weltevreden (“Well Satisfied”) - dates back to the late 18th century when it was granted by Lord Charles Somerset to its first owner, Jacob Isak de Villers. The de Villiers family was among the first 200 French Huguenots to arrive in the Cape in 1689 after a five month journey on the ship, the Zion.

They built the homestead, a classic example of the H-shaped Cape Dutch style architecture of the 1820s, complete with its original doors and floors, and again today painted in subtle ice-cream hues typical of the day.

By 1972, when Michael Woodhead acquired the Estate, no wine had been made on Le Bonheur for 50 years. The vineyards were neglected and the cellar had become antiquated. Since then, Le Bonheur has been completely redeveloped.

The Estate became the property of Distillers Corporation in the eighties. In July 1999, Distillers joined forces with financier Hans-J Schreiber to form a new company named Lusan Holdings (Pty) Ltd. The operating company of this joint venture is Lusan Premium Wines (Pty) Ltd and is responsible for the farming activities and production of wine from the three farms previously owned by Distillers, namely Le Bonheur, Uitkyk and Alto, together with the four farms owned by Schreiber (Neethlingshof, Stellenzicht, Olives and Hillandale) which trade under the brand names of Neethlingshof Estate and Stellenzicht Vineyards.

Lusan is equally represented by the two shareholders, and its Board of Directors is at present chaired by Hans Schreiber. The joint venture markets and sells its products exclusively through SA Wine Cellars Ltd.