The Marais family trace their roots centuries back to the marshy region called Le Marais, which is now the hip suburb of restaurants and upscale museums in Paris, France. They came to the Cape of Good Hope like the Huguenots generations before and settled in the Slanghoek Valley in the middle of the Cape Winelands in 1847. The Marais’s eventually emerged as landowners on Breëland farm, which expanded from livestock to cash crops and fruit groves. The Apple House remains as a legacy of the cider they made with their main produce.

In the late 19th century, the family ventured into viticulture, but it was only after the Great War and the wine shortage in Europe that the vineyards became the primary source of income. They established a cellar for bulk wine production and the family’s commitment to winemaking deepened at the end of the Second World War, when they donated land for the Slanghoek Wine Cellar cooperative.

Today Marais Family Wines is run by Owner and CEO Lizelle Marais. Winemaker Wickus Erasmus has been with the estate since 2008, and Lizelle’s sons are involved as well. The eldest son Daniël is the farm manager and George is mastering the finer details of the craft at the famous Elsenburg Agricultural College. Lizelle has gone to great lengths to establish the estate’s garden and tree lanes, and Breëland has become a destination for special events and private functions. In 2021 parts of the old cement cellar were refurbished into a charming tasting room and meeting area and a state-of-the-art French oak wine barrel cellar was added.