" As jy vandag na die Riebeek Vallei kyk dan is dit sinoniem met die Vlokke, maar as jy na die Vlokke kyk is dit sinoniem met sukses. Sukses is sinoniem met kwaliteit en gehalte, want dit is die Vlokke, en dit is Riebeek-Kasteel se Vlokke " - Eddie Pienaar (Landbou Adviseer)
28 June 2008 marked the half century anniversary of the Vlok family,s arrival in the prosperous Riebeek Valley. Adriaan Johannes "Attie" Vlok and his wife Anna Vlok (nee Jordaan) settled in the valley in June 1958 on the farm Remhoogte which is still in the family. They had 9 children 7 boys and 2 girls. The eldest son chose not to go into farming and likes to joke that it was too much like hard work. In truth his passion was with medicine and he went on to become a Professor in Orthopedic Surgery.
Of the remaining 8 children, all are involved in farming of some kind, either directly or indirectly, a family business which has passed on to the grandchildren with great success. |
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" Attie en Anna Vlok se voetspore op die grond op Riebeek-Kasteel was verseker die mis indie grond, want dit wat hul geplant en agtergelaat het, kon niemand nog ooit ongedaan gemaak het nie." - Piet Geldenhuis (Technical Advisor at Capespan)
The Morester estate was purchased in the same year and is now the family seat of Johan and Ansie Vlok and their three children. It is here that Het Vlock Casteel is based.
Johan and Ansie met at University in Stellenbosch where he was studying for a degree in Viticulture and Wine Making and she was completing her degree in Food Science. They married in 1983 and soon settled on Morester farm. Their firstborn child, a daughter Anne-Mart followed in 1984 and their son Adriaan Johannes "Johan" (named for his grandfather) in 1986. Their third child, another daughter Ansie, rounded out the family in 1988.
Anne-Mart has a degree in Psychology and has also studied at the prestigious I.C.A Culinary School in Stellenbosch. Johan Jnr is following in his father's footsteps and completing his post-graduate degree in Viticulture and wine making. Ansie Jnr is currently completing her Bachelor's Degree in Accounting.
Inspired by his father's ingenuity and visionary farming techniques, Johan saw the potential in the land and it is due to his foresight that the farm went from producing predominantly table and wine grapes in the 1980s to the wide diversity of produce available today.
It is important to note that a number of the farms in the Riebeek Valley are in Vlok hands to this day.
" .per square meter, the Riebeek Valley holds more Vloks than any other part of the country. " Gert Kotse (Former Deputy Minister for Agriculture)
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