The story of Lieben

After a Business Commerce Degree from the University of Stellenbosch and a 5-year career as a Transport Economist in the corporate world, Alwyn decided it was time to follow his passion and went back to study Oenology (viniculture and viticulture) full time.

In the last 17 years Alwyn made award winning wines on 3 continents at various wine estates and launched his own brand, Lieben Wines in 2012, followed by Lieben Gin in 2018 spearheaded by his wife Beulah.

Their international travel adventures, raising two beautiful daughters and decades as partners in life and business has made them a formidable team.

Alwyn

Alwyn refers to himself as the Uber of wine making. He sources grapes from carefully selected terroir specific vineyards in the Hemel and Aarde Valley, Bot River, Elgin and Franschhoek. Getting different cultivars from different terroirs where they grow at their best enables him to put together a wine portfolio that is not limited to a specific area, but rather terroir specific…happy vines, happy wines. Alwyn makes his wines with old style methods of minimal interference and a soft hand. Having made wine in big open granite lagars (fermenters) from the 1500’s in Portugal and traditional clay pots used by the monks on the Mekong river in China, he knows the value of old-world wisdom combined with the comforts of modern technology.

Alwyn have made wine in South Africa, Portugal and China. In Portugal, he made wine and vintage ports at Quinta de Pacheca and The Symington Family Vineyards in the Douro Valley for 4 seasons. In China his stints include making wine in the harsh climatic region of Ningxia at the foot of the Helan Mountains near the Mongolian border and in Shangri-La, Yunnan, on the steep banks of the Mekong river, snaking through the Himalayan Mountains at an altitude of 2700m near the Tibetan border for a French company. Both these areas are named as the most promising new wine regions with some big wigs from France and Australia investing there. His energetic nature and wine making antics in these harsh and challenging wine regions earned him the nicknames Live-wire Winemaker and Captain Courageous.

Besides wine making, Alwyn distilled premium Brandy and Grappa in the Klein Karoo and ventured out into the exciting world of small batch craft gin. With a nudge from his wife Beulah, a distribution plan in place and 5 samples made up…they decided to launch… the whole range at once.

Making wine in the harsh climatic regions of the Douro Valley, Ningxia and Yunnan.

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Beulah

Beulah, a Designer Jeweller by trade with a love for fragrance, spice and all things nice is the inspiration behind the range of premium gins for the Lieben label. Her obsession with collections and rhymes led to the Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor range, named after a British picking rhyme from the 15th century. The limited-edition Spy gin was added in reference to the world-famous John le Carre novel and film, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

Beulah has a Degree in Jewellery Design and Manufacture from the University of Stellenbosch and spent a few years abroad. In London she made jewellery for Erickson Beamon accompanying designer labels like Christian Dior, Anna Molinari, Dries van Noten and Givenchy on catwalk shows and her work featured in International magazines like Vogue, Elle and Harpers and Queen and sold in Harrods, Fenwick’s and Selfridges. Her creative instincts and years as a jeweller resulted in the intricate foiled and detailed label designs.