Van Hunks

The brand was founded by Tom Gearing and takes its name from the Cape Town legend of Jan van Hunks, a retired pirate said to have challenged the devil to a smoking contest on Table Mountain, a story that gives the brand a distinctly South African identity despite its British registration. Production takes place in Stellenbosch, one of South Africa's most established viticultural regions. The alcohol-free sparkling wine is built from a blend of Chenin Blanc and Pinotage grapes, using the same base wine as the alcoholic range. To remove the alcohol whilst preserving the wine's aromatic character, Van Hunks uses a spinning cone column, a low-temperature method of separating alcohol from finished wine that protects delicate volatile compounds. The result is an alcohol-free sparkling wine positioned at sober-curious drinkers who want a premium South African sparkling option.

Van Hunks is perhaps best known in trade circles for its sparkling mead range, which it presents as a dry, modern alternative to traditional fermented mead. The AF sparkling wine sits alongside that proposition, giving the brand relevance across both the alcohol-free and niche artisan sparkling categories.

Distribution is multi-channel, covering direct-to-consumer sales through the brand's own website and availability through online retail platforms. The range is narrow by design, and the AF product sits in the premium bracket, reflecting the Stellenbosch provenance and the production method involved.