13/04/2026
On his farm Alpat, near Keimoes in the Northern Cape, Albertus van der Merwe’s raisin vineyards are a study in control and precision. The vines are uniform and perfectly balanced, cover crops between the rows look combed into place, and the soil is clean, even and weed-free.
Every element reflects deliberate decision-making, where nothing is left to chance and even the smallest detail serves a clear production purpose, reflecting Van der Merwe’s candid admission that he is a ‘complete control freak’.
What makes this even more extraordinary is that Van der Merwe maintains this level of precision despite his diverse farming commitments.
In addition to his raisin enterprise, he runs a 24 000ha cattle operation on rented land in the Kalahari, keeps sheep and game, spends three months a year overseas making wine for the Tohani winery in Romania, buys grapes from emerging farmers in South Africa to produce wine locally, and until the end of 2025, his wife, Patricia, owned the local butchery, Kalahari Vleishuis.
“I’m a third-generation butcher and ran the business for 23 years. I started with five staff, which grew to more than 30. It’s a demanding job. I sold the business because the hours are so long that you start to forget how to switch off,” says Patricia, dashing past during the interview with Van der Merwe.
Click the link to read about his : https://bit.ly/4t6KsvH
