Team
Winemaker
Karlin Nel
Head Viticulturist
Annette Human
direct sales Manager
Lizé Engelbrecht
Wine Club manager
Danie has fostered a lifelong connection with the land since the age of three, indulging in youthful exploration and camaraderie with farm workers. His educational path led him to Elsenberg, where he immersed himself in Oenology, Viticulture, and Cellar Management. The wine industry beckoned, with his initial vintage at Vrede en Lust marking his entry.
Daniel’s vineyard expertise burgeoned during a spell at Caseys ridge, guided by Annette, and extended globally to Johanninger in Biebelsheim, Germany. Further enriching his experience, he embarked on a second South African vintage at Rupert and Rothschild before a transformative year in Napa, California’s boutique winery scene. This journey interwove diverse personalities and immersive vineyard encounters.
Over three years of merging vineyard and cellar, his passion for the vines solidified. Returning to his roots in 2022, he embraced the role of family vineyard manager, infusing his energy into the land that raised him. With unyielding devotion, Daniel tends to the family legacy, nurturing each vine with fervent dedication.
Originally from the small countryside town of Caledon in the Overberg region, Lizé Engelbrecht grew up between people with a love for good food, good wine, and good company.
Studying in Stellenbosch led to more exposure to the wine industry and installed from a young age grew to a passion. This led to a career change from Engineering to the Wine Industry. After gaining experience in various tasting rooms, she joined the Vrede en Lust team in November this year as Direct Sales Manager.
Being a small-town girl born & bred, she’s a firm believer in countryside hospitality and that there is a wine out there for everyone, you just have to find it.
Before purchasing the Vrede en Lust farm in 1996, Dana was involved in the informational technology industry. His company, Workgroup Systems, was the first South African company to have a distribution relationship with Microsoft post the sanctions era. Workgroup grew to become the largest distributor of software in the country by 1996, at which point he sold the distribution, training and consulting components of the business.
Buys was chairman of Frontrange when it listed on the JSE in 1997. Since selling Frontrange Solutions in December 2005, he is dedicated to making a success of the Vrede en Lust wine business.
In 1996 he began his new venture in the wine industry. He replanted entirely new vines in relation to the unique soil of each block of land. Dana also restored much of the historic building back to their original status. He completed his postgraduate studies in Wine Business through the University of Adelaide. He is heavily involved in promoting the South African wine industry as a whole.
Dana married Anneke Louw in June 2008. They now live back on Vrede en Lust in a new house a bit further up the farm. Dana has two daughters; Jessica, Sarah, from his previous marriage and little Anni and Ella have joined the family in the past 3 years!
In 1998, Etienne joined his brother Dana in the Vrede en Lust partnership and headed up the development of the Vrede en Lust and Casey’s Ridge farms. With the help of Günter Brözel, the new cellar was planned and built, followed by the wedding venue and accommodation.
Etienne is passionate about farming and wine, and until recently he headed the viticulture on both Vrede en Lust and Casey’s Ridge. He has travelled extensively in France and Australia, building his knowledge of modern techniques used within the wine industry. Since 2012 he took over as Managing Partner of Vrede en Lust.
Prior to joining Vrede en Lust, Etienne served in the government for 15 years and gained extensive managerial and corporate experience. He has a degree in Contemporary African Studies and Sociocultural Anthropology.
Not only is he theoretically knowledgeable, but he also follows a hands-on philosophy. Therefore, you are most likely to find him in the vineyards.
Preparing Karlin for her journey in the wine industry was a Bsc.Agric Viticulture & Oenology degree from the University of Stellenbosch. In 2015 her career commenced at Vrede and Lust as Assistant Winemaker. In 2016 she broadened her knowledge with international experience from Italy’s wine industry, when she joined a small family wine estate in the heart of Barbaresco, Piedmont, for their harvest season. Back home in SA in May 2017 Karlin joined Rupert and Rothschild as assistant winemaker and worked in the Baron Cellar, producing Baroness Nadine (Chardonnay) and Baron Edmund (Bordeaux blend). In the same year she was accepted for a Burgundy exchange program in France, studying the Burgundy region (one of the most recognisable wine regions in France) with respect to Viticulture and Oenology, wine processing techniques and wine chemistry. Following this, she continued her international experience in France with a harvest season at Domaine Terres de Ville in Auxey-Duresses.
Returning to South Africa, Karlin was appointed in October 2017 as Cellar master at Vrede en Lust Wine Estate at the age of 25, the youngest female winemaker in South Africa at the time. It is here where Karlin still today lives out her passion and strives to let that flow into her creations.
As Karlin would famously say: “I love sharing with people – everything from good wine and food to laughter and memories. Hence, it gratifies me to every day be in a position to cultivate something that I can share with people, that brings people together and adds joy to the moment. I truly love what I am doing.”
Having grown up on Vrede en Lust, it has always had a very special place in Sarah’s heart and reminds her of a very happy childhood set amongst the oak trees. As she got older, her appreciation for the beauty and heritage grew, and taking over the position as hospitality manager from her sister Jess seemed like a natural progression after spending four years working on board a private yacht as a Chief
Stewardess.
Prior to her time in yachting, Sarah completed a Bcom In Management Sciences at Stellenbosch and has recently completed an Honours Degree in Management and Leadership. Having led her interior team on board the yacht through some rocky waters, we believe Sarah has the right experience and background to achieve great things for our hospitality department. Now living on the farm with her Fiance (Husband?), Sarah and her team are eager to make their mark on the hospitality industry in the area, with a modern and collaborative approach.
I was born on a farm near Lydenburg in Mpumalanga. On my dad’s side I come from a long line of farmers, while my mom is the academic in the family. They raised me with the belief that nothing is impossible to achieve if you can dream big.
I too studied at Stellenbosch University where I obtained my BSc. oenology and viticulture and then a masters degree in viticulture. From there I gained experience working on a number of wine farms across the Western Cape before joining the Vrede en Lust team.
Johan’s qualifications include (amongst others) a Bcompt Honours (CTA) degree from UNISA and he also holds the prestige CA (SA) designation. His educational background together with his extensive financial and auditing experience obtained over the years makes him a key player on the Vrede en Lust team.
Johan took over the reins of Vrede en Lust’s financial department at the beginning of 2015 and, together with the dynamic group of women who make up the rest of his team, they are really working wonders and doing a fantastic job in heading the company into a prosperous strategic financial position.
He has a natural ability when it comes to accounting and this, together with his intense attention to detail, ensure that Vrede en Lust’s financial future is in capable hands.
Johan’s favourite quote – he says with his ‘trademark’ dry sense of humour – is: “What happens in the accountant’s office, stays in the accountant’s office!.” Referring to the endless, countless days accountants have to spend to get those accounts balanced!
On a more serious note, Johan’s philosophy for success and his career is: “Success is simple – do what’s right, the right way and at the right time.”
Born in the border town of Zeerust, between Rustenburg and Botswana, Nicole explains that it may be the place with the least exposure to wine in SA. Having made the trek to the winelands shortly after completing her Bachelor’s Degree in Business and Marketing Management.
Nicole quickly fell in love with wine when working in the hospitality industry in the Cape, joining the Vrede en Lust team in 2019 as a Red Lady in our tasting room. Fast forward to 2021 when the promotion to manage the Wine Club, thoroughly deserved due to her consistent and meticulous service to all of our customers.
Nicole is admired in the office for collecting house plants of all shapes and sizes and in her spare time she enjoy walks on the Simonsberg or making unique sauces from her own recipes.