After their father lost his job in Paternoster (a village in the Western Cape famously known for its fishing), the family was evicted from the factory house in which they lived and in order for all seven children to survive, the siblings were forced to split up and live with different relatives.
It was 20 years later (2005) that the Brutus sisters were reunited and began working towards realising their vision of creating African Roots Wine Brands with Vivian Kleynhans at the helm. Her journey in winemaking is an interesting one. Not only has she entered the industry as a self-taught wine entrepreneur, when starting out on her wine-making journey she was and remains mindful of associated substance abuse.