06 Jul 2026 Van Loveren’s Bottles of Hope
South Africans are invited to stand with one of the country’s most loved wine farms after the devastating Western Cape floods…. [your ed was thrilled and moved in buying six today!]
After devastating floods tore through parts of the Western Cape in May, many communities were left counting the cost. Among them was Van Loveren, one of SA’s biggest wine farms and a longstanding Food Lover’s Market (FLM) supplier.
The flood damaged parts of the farm, affected infrastructure and left thousands of bottles covered in mud, scuffed, stained and visibly marked.
But in the middle of the devastation, the Van Loveren family, team and surrounding community came together to rescue what they could. Bottle by bottle, crate by crate, they worked through the mud to save the stock that had survived.
Now, those bottles are being given a new purpose.
FLM has partnered with Van Loveren to bring these surviving bottles into selected stores as Flood Wines, known as Bottles of Hope.
They are available at 3 for R100, while stocks last, with FLM making no profit from the campaign. The money goes back to Van Loveren to support the farm’s recovery.
These are not ordinary bottles
They carry the visible marks of the storm, and that is exactly the point. Every stain, scuff and muddy label tells the story of what the farm has been through, and what it is now working to rebuild.
For FLM, the decision to support the campaign was rooted in relationship, not retail. Van Loveren is more than a supplier. It is a family business, a farming community and a South African brand that has been part of many customers’tables for generations.
“In a retail environment where perfect labels and pristine packaging are usually the standard, these bottles tell a different story. Here, the marks are the meaning. The mud, scuffs and imperfections are not flaws. They are proof of what survived,” says the FLM press release.
“Food Lover’s Market is clear that this is not a normal wine promotion. Given what the bottles have been through, customers are not simply buying wine. They are buying a piece of the story, a symbol of resilience, and a way to stand with Van Loveren as the farm rebuilds.
Customers are invited to take the bottles home, display them, gift them, place them on a table, or keep them as a reminder of what hope can look like after a storm.”
Source: FLM
Related reading:
Van Loveren flood impact 2026
Here’s a look at some of the devastation suffered by wine farms and cellars on the Breede River in the recent floods….