Chabivin’s  seed was planted in 2007 through a meeting with Hendrik Snyman, a young and passionate South African winemaker. Hendrik was working in Napa Valley, New Zealand and South Africa, gaining valuable international experience in the making of red and white wines. He then contacted the Charbaut family, applying for a wine making job to gain specialist knowledge about Champagne. The family took him in as a foreign son, teaching him about the French culture, the language, the history and secrets of making fine Champagne the French way.

This lifetime friendship grew stronger and at the end of 8 months’ priceless experience, Hendrik had to return to South Africa due to wine making responsibilities.  In 2008 Jean-Pierre and Brigitte came for their first visit and fell in love with this beautiful country. With a little bit of imagination and a few flutes of Champagne, they started Chabivin. In 2009, Hendrik finally decided to manage Chabivin full time, representing the family’s Champagne in South Africa and also carrying over the knowledge gained while being taught by the best.

He will continue his journeys to France, learning even more about Champagne and will be producing a Cap Classique here in South Africa in the near future. This will fuse together Hendrik's knowledge gained worldwide, especially in France, with raw material from great South African vineyards to create a gem of sparkling perfection to be enjoyed and celebrated by all.