Stellenbosch

- Season 1

(2007)

Twelve years ago, Cape Province wine farm heir Henk Keppel Jr. left South Africa as Apartheid was unraveling and became a wine trader in Holland. Now Mandela is elected president, his sister Anne, who meanwhile ran the family estate Arkadia with black foreman David Verweij, asks the family to accept a more cooperative-inspired formula. Having fell in love at first sight with Xhosa Shelley, once a servant on Arkadia, Henk decides ti return to deal with the family past and the winery's potentially brilliant future himself.

Henk Keppel Jr. returns to South Afrika and manages to take over as CEO from Betty. He finds an ally in Flemish neighbor Bernard Castel, father of his late or missing youth buddy Jean-Luc, who practically considers him a substitute for his mourned son.

Now Henk Jr. is back and in control of Arkadia instead of Betty, he hopes to produce world class wine there. But first he wants to prepare Shelley's return by solving the case of the disappeared knaves in 1963, his white buddy Jean-Luc Castel her son Andile. The police never discovered the truth or bodies. Bernard Castel helps out investing in thee state, but his wife pressures him to emigrate 'back' to Belgium. In Holland, Vincent start a nightclub with Henk's daughter. Grandpa is going senile, so Henk visits to get confirmation during a lucid period that Jean-Luc ...

Henk sacrifices some of his best vines, officially to improve the soil, in fact hoping correctly to find Jean-Luc's bones, to give Bernard closure. His naive sister stupidly considers his clever way to replace her absurd benefits with the traditional payment in kind the workers want. Back home, Vincent's diner, with Marie as waitress, is such a success they can afford a new car. She's most ingrate when he takes her on a ride ending at her flippant ma's home, and causes a double accident after insisting to drive straight back at night. She's hit, pulls trough but ...

Henk is ready to harvest his Bordeaux-quality wine, but the crucial 'evidence' zone still isn't released. Meanwhile a Dutch supermarket chain offer to distribute his fashionable rosé could tie over Arkafia, but he bitterly refuses it. Attorney Kishore successfully proposes marriage to Anneke, who wants a baby, and offers Henk a deal: he'll get the vines if he lets her take over 'business' management again.

Now Patel is in charge of Arkadia, a record harvest is on hand. The final findings about the bloody night when Adile disappeared further unsettle Henk, who concentrates even more desperately on his quality project patch. His daughter Marie visits, meets a new lover and decides to stay.

Now his Bordeaux-quality wine is made, Henk proudly decides to drive it to the airport himself. On the way, he notices wild dogs, follows them to a cave and finds they got hold of the last missing bodily remains. But meanwhile, local hoodlum black boys have senselessly broken into the van and smashed every bottle, without even drinking. Only one bottle turns up at Arkadia, stolen by a worker's son. Henk takes it home to share with Jean-Luc's and his 'adoptive' dad. Patel and Anne are married and move out to Durban, executing her naive plan to distribute ownership of ...