History

The Franschhoek Valley, enfolded by mountains on three sides was a relatively remote area when first discovered. Originally it was named Oliphantshoek. Elephants transversed the mountains to calve.The protected isolation provided the perfect elephant nursery. Later the village of Franschhoek was founded on sections of two Huguenot farms, one of them Cabriére.

The Huguenots were brought to the Cape by the Dutch East India Company, which had established a post to provide fresh supplies for their passing fleets en route to the East. Many French Huguenots fled to the Netherlands to avoid religious persecution, and were consequently recruited to produce wine in the Cape. Most of them settled in the Franschhoek valley. Among them were two young brothers by the name of Jourdan. They hailed from the village Cabriére d’Agues, nestled in the Luberon in Southern France, where wine had been produced since the year 2000 BC. They were orphaned during the disastrous voyage of the "Berg China" from Rotterdam to the Cape of Good Hope in 1688.

Simon van der Stel, the then governor of the Cape Colony, granted them 51 hectare of land in the Franschhoek valley. Not surprisingly, they named it Cabriére. Since those early days the farmland changed hands, and was subjected to subdivisions many times.

Today it's know as Franschhoek and serves as a tourist mecca and centre point of the many splendours the Winelands has to offer.

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