Liefie

Marguerita Mary Klerck Faure, 1918–2001

Marguerita Mary Klerck grew up in Sea Point as the only daughter among five brothers.

Almost everyone called her Liefie — an affectionate Afrikaans name meaning “dear” or “sweetheart”. She occasionally tried to persuade people to call her Rita instead. It never really worked.

She met Hannes Faure aboard the Windhoek. They married in 1942, during the war, and went on to raise six children at Kahlenberg, the Faure family’s wine-grape farm.

Liefie brought warmth, energy and a wonderfully mischievous sense of humour to family life.

She loved people. She loved shopping. And she loved cats.

At one stage Kahlenberg was home to at least seven of them. Even their names became family stories. A particularly thin cat was called Gillette. When an even thinner one arrived, Liefie named it Minora — after the cheaper razor blade.

But perhaps her real gift was hospitality.

Liefie and Hannes became known for long lunches and lively dinners around a large table, with family, friends, conversation and wine all mixed together. Wine was not something to be admired from a distance. It belonged at the table, shared with people.

That spirit has travelled through the generations.

Today, Liefie Cap Classique carries her name. It is more than a family tribute. It celebrates an idea she seemed to understand instinctively: that the best bottles are rarely about the wine alone.

They are about who is sitting around the table when you open them.