The Bester family has been grain and sheep farmers for more than 8 generations in the Swartland Region, Western Cape in South Africa. When the safety on farms in the area got really bad, Dirk and his dad, Dirk-senior decided it was time to sell the family farm Glen Peter and look for opportunities elsewhere. They looked at many countries, but it was the land down under where they could see themselves move to, the first time in 300 years that the Bester family would move.
Dirk’s mother, which is of German heritage, grew up in the Stellenbosch Winelands in South Africa, where the Heins family still farms grapes today on vineyard De Clapmuts. Stellenbosch is also where Dirk’s love affair with wine began and where he met Nika right after his studies.
After Dirk convinced his dad that they had to invest into the beautiful winery in the hills of Everton Upper in Beechworth Wine Region, he and Nika moved over in August 2019 and took over the vineyard in September 2019. The day after handover, Nika chased Dirk out of bed to start renovations. With Nika’s passion for business and ambition to start building their dream, they soon opened the doors to Glenbosch Wine Estate.
Glenbosch the name is a combination between the family farm (Glen Peter) and Stellenbosch, but it is also a good description of the property, as a Glen is a Valley with running water, and Bosch (meaning Bush) as 1/3 of the property is beautiful native Australian bushland. Also, the wine drinkers in our accountants office that day thought the name would be fitting for a winery they would want to visit.