Rupert & Rothschild

Rupert & Rothschild is a collaboration between the Rupert family in South Africa and the Rothschild family in France. From its inception in 1997, this brand has been built on just three wines. Not surprising, but they draw inspiration from the French way of winemaking; the red wine specialists with a core focus on Bordeaux varietals and the white wine is a chardonnay.

1997 is the year in which Rupert & Rothschild was born – out of a shared passion for wine, a shared pursuit of excellence. But the story goes back much further – centuries in fact – to the birth of two families who shared the same vision. 

The Rothschild family's winemaking history has its origins in France, where James de Rothschild bought the main Bordeaux estate Château Lafite in 1868. He began a love affair with the vine that would be continued more than 100 years later by his great-grandson, Baron Edmond de Rothschild. Motivated by a dream to shape some of the best wines in the world, Baron Edmond de Rothschild founded several wineries in Europe, and later, in countless remote corners of the world – a valuable collection that together makes up Edmond de Rothschild Heritage.

Driven by determination and unwavering optimism, the late Dr. Anton Rupert always had entrepreneurship in his blood. In addition to a flair for building businesses from scratch, he and his wife Huberte nurtured a reverence for art, for people, for the natural world, and for the promise of South African wine. He and his family have devoted a great deal of energy and many years to cultivating estates in Franschhoek that provide excellence, pleasure, and prestige to the world.

Baron Edmond de Rothschild, well established in the Old World, was eager to take his passion and expertise across the waters – to nurture wines of great lineage in the lands of the New World. His meeting with dr. Rupert was the ideal base for a joint venture in the sun-drenched grounds of South Africa.

In May 1997, the founders formalized their partnership. They found the perfect location: a quiet Franschhoek farmhouse at the foot of the Simonsberg. And they are committed to a simple and elegant approach. A distinctly French approach. To create three carefully crafted wines – two Bordeaux blends and one Chardonnay – that would express the full potential of the local vines. They had to be iconic wines that set their own standards: rare, special, unique wines. Wines that taste of progress and prosperity, family and friendship. Wines that are not made for profit or pride, but purely out of love for the craft and the pleasure of the end product.