A unique opportunity to go back in time

Brian Berkman visits Earthbox at Lourensford Wine Estate and ventures 5m down into the earth.

- Brian Berkman

A fallow site on Lourensford Wine Estate in Somerset West in the Western Cape that was previously used for plums has been transformed into a subterranean wonder.

Five metres below the ground and accessed by a curved ramp that is also wheelchair friendly, a 24m-long excavated chamber is revealed. This is Earthbox, which the organisers claim is a world first.

Reaching Earthbox is by means of a tractor-drawn trailer that passes Bon Chretien pear orchards and sunflower fields on land previously dedicated to Chardonnay grapes.

Best known for its wine production, Lourensford also has 90ha to apples and pears, 85ha to plums and 42ha of vineyards. About 22ha of avocado are also part of its 4 000ha area on a historic farm, originally owned by Willem Adriaan van der Stel and established in 1700.

Lourensford has an on-site cellar with wine-tasting and sales facilities, but the other fruit is marketed through New Vision, based in Durbanville in the Western Cape.

The Lourensford Market is a popular foodie experience and the Millhouse Kitchen is also acclaimed. The Coffee Roasting Company as well as Lourensford’s sculpture-rich gardens and retail outlets all contribute to making this a destination farm.

But, since November 2023, Earthbox has brought an entirely different focus. According to Lourensford general manager Koos Jordaan, the estate is proud that such an initiative was born and bred in South Africa. “Earthbox is an attraction of a high international standard. The Dream Commission, the people who conceptualised and manage Earthbox, have given us all an even greater appreciation of the earth beneath our feet,” he says.