Oak Valley Estates boasts about the "uncompromising quality" of its wine, but the wives of some of the men who tend the vines say it also produces a crop of human rights abuses.
As Women's Month began this week, the estate in the Western Cape town of Grabouw was embroiled in a court battle with 42 employees who are demanding the abolition of single-sex accommodation.
The extent to which relations have soured between the farm and its staff is detailed in an equality court application in which the employees, from Qumbu in the Eastern Cape, ask the court to compel the farm to provide them with family accommodation.
Team leader Sibongile Rarayi, 47, has worked on the farm for 22 years. The father of five said he was forced to rent a shack in the local township when his wife - now deceased - visited.
In a 45-page affidavit filed in the high court in Cape Town, Rarayi said up to four men share a hostel dormitory with one window. He said their children are at risk of being forced into marriage and "illegal initiation procedures" in the Eastern Cape because they are not able to live with them.
"Our absence from our family homes for extended periods … denies us the opportunity of fulfilling our family responsibilities and enjoying our family rights. It also leaves our children and our wives vulnerable," he said in his affidavit.
"This happens because we are subjected to the remnants of the abhorrent apartheid migrant-labour law system, which is still practised by our employer."
His partner, Nomalungiselelo Mqobi, lives with their one-month-old baby in Siyanyanzela, an informal settlement in Grabouw.
0 of 2
"I am not allowed to live with him on the farm to raise our child," she said. "It is totally wrong. I only see him on weekends. Women's rights are being violated in this way. A child needs both parents."
Noxolile Mankayi, who is married to Oak Valley employee Makhosandile Mankayi, echoed Mqobi's sentiments. Speaking from Qumbu, where she lives with the couple's four children, she said her husband of 20 years had worked on the farm since June last year.
"I have been unable to visit my husband because he says they live in a compound," said Mankayi.
"I would love to visit the Western Cape, and this situation frustrates me and gives me sleepless nights. I feel robbed of my rights as a woman because we are unable to raise our children as a family."
Nokuthula Nojoko, the wife of another Oak Valley worker, said: "We rent a shack in the township every time I visit my husband. Our four children have been deprived of the opportunity to grow up with their father. This cannot be right. It has all the hallmarks of apartheid."
Christopher Rawbone-Viljoen, Oak Valley's managing director, said the farm will oppose the application. He said Rarayi "is not being truthful in his affidavit" and that the hostel meets all industry standards.
"Accommodation and food are provided free of charge and visitation rules are in place to maintain orderliness for visitors and residents alike," said Rawbone-Viljoen.
"Our staff housing, facilities and benefits are of the highest standard to be found anywhere in agriculture in SA.
"The hostel residents have filed an application with the equality court seeking that new family houses be provided on Oak Valley for all Oak Valley employees. We will be opposing the application."
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.