What links a historic 1928 try against the All Blacks to your next glass of red? The answer lies in Springbok number 221.
Decades after Albertus Viljoen “Oupa Alvi” van der Merwe made history on the rugby field, his family is keeping his humble legacy alive through the vineyards of Alvi's Drift.
As the Boks prepare for another showdown against New Zealand on Saturday, August 22, here is the story of how a legendary sporting moment transformed into an award-winning Cape wine.
In 1928, 19-year-old Oupa Alvi became the first player to score a try against the touring All Blacks on African soil.
He was playing for Western Province Country at Newlands when he crossed the line during the opening match of the tour. The All Blacks won 11-3, but the young player had already secured his place in rugby history.
For his grandson Alvi van der Merwe, winemaker at Alvi's Drift, the story is not simply about a famous try. It is about a family legacy that has moved from the rugby field into the vineyards.
A story built on humility
Oupa Alvi later became Springbok number 221, a distinction that would eventually give its name to the family's 221 wine range.
Yet his grandson says rugby was never something he used to define himself.
“What stands out to me is his humility,” Alvi says. “I knew that my grandfather had been a Springbok rugby player. I remember seeing him in his Springbok blazer, but he never spoke about scoring that try against the All Blacks.”
Alvi only discovered the full significance of his grandfather's achievement later in life.
“He was charismatic, always impeccably dressed, and enjoyed his glass of wine, but he never felt the need to talk about what he had achieved,” he says.
For the family, that modesty is as important as the rugby record.
“He helped build the farm and its people, and that is the legacy we are still building today,” Alvi says.
From Springbok 221 to wine
The decision to name the range 221 came from discovering the significance of Oupa Alvi's Springbok number.
“When I learnt that my grandfather was Springbok number 221, I immediately felt there was something special in that number,” Alvi says.
The number connects the wine to South African sporting history, but the family did not want the range to exist only as a tribute to the past.
“The wine still had to stand on its own,” he says. “The earlier generations laid the foundations here. Our job has been to take that forward, grow Alvi's Drift and make wines people genuinely enjoy.”
The 221 range includes Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinotage and Special Cuvée Red. Each wine offers a contemporary expression of the family's connection to the farm while carrying the story of the man behind the number.
“That is what I like about the 221 Range,” Alvi says. “It honours where we come from without living in the past.”
A team effort
Oupa Alvi believed that “you don't make good wine alone. It's a team effort”. For his grandson, that philosophy remains central to how the estate operates.
“Wine starts in the vineyard, long before it reaches the cellar, and every person along the way has a hand in the final bottle,” Alvi says.
He sees winemaking as a collective effort rather than the work of one individual.
“Our family may provide continuity and direction, but Alvi's Drift has never been the achievement of one person,” he says. “It has been built by generations of family, our vineyard and cellar teams, our workforce and the wider farming community.”
That idea mirrors the way Oupa Alvi approached his own legacy. His rugby achievement may have made history, but his contribution to the family farm became part of something larger.
A legacy for a new generation
Almost 100 years after that historic try at Newlands, the All Blacks remain a defining opponent for the Springboks. For the Van der Merwe family, the rivalry now brings an old story back into focus.
But the 221 range is not simply a bottle of rugby memorabilia.
“221 was never meant to be only about rugby, sport or one person's achievement,” Alvi says. “It is about the stories people share around a table, family stories, old memories and ordinary evenings that stay with you.”
For a family whose story stretches from a historic try to generations of farming and winemaking, the number 221 has become more than a Springbok cap.
“For us, 221 takes a story from our own past and passes it on,” Alvi says. “When someone opens a bottle, we hope it becomes part of their story too.”
lutho.pasiya@nationalmg.co.za