Four Cousins wine comes of age

According to the brand, the fresher appearance reflects all the wholesome attributes and attractive values associated with the home and heritage of Four Cousins, from the fertile soils and plentiful sunshine that feed the vineyards to the generations of families who have made the beautiful Breede River Valley their home.

“The new look to Four Cousins was not easy to pin down," Phillip says. "There are always risks in seeking to improve packaging that has only had minor tweaks over the past 20 years," says Phillip Retief, CEO of Van Loveren Family Vineyards.

Building an identifiable brand

Four Cousins is the South Africa's biggest-selling bottled wine brand, and is today enjoyed in more than 62 countries.

"It’s very humbling the way Four Cousins has been embraced by South Africans, whether in the traditional Cape Wine region, Soweto and Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, universities and the younger consumer," says Retief.

The story of Four Cousins started in the mid-1990s when Hennie, Neil, Bussell and Phillip together, after completing their studies, joined the family farm, Van Loveren Vineyards near the Western Cape town of Robertson. In 2000, the foursome created a wine they were eager to share. They pumped all they had into their new venture, added their faces to the label as a personal endorsement, and launched Four Cousins.

“Looking back now, we have been very fortunate with Four Cousins,” says Retief. “Everybody needs some kind of break in life and Four Cousins gave that to us as the third generation at Van Loveren.

“We were doing well following in the footsteps of our parents, but we wanted to achieve more as custodians of an opportunity and time. Four Cousins was developed in a style that spoke to a large, diverse and mostly untapped group of people; the quality of the wine, although being sweeter in style, was excellent, so we followed our instincts.”

Retief adds, "People identify with the Four Cousins family, whilst even referring to themselves as the 5th Cousin in many instances. They identify with what Four Cousins stands for – friendship, family and the memories we hold dear."