Some other stuff 2

Say "Soweto" and most people think of an endless sprawl of apartheid-built box houses. People who have actually been there would perhaps think of the palatial houses rising incongruously here and there between the box houses. Others may think of the vibrant street life and the famous, perhaps infamous, Soweto street parties and the pulsating beer halls called shebeens - but very few people would think of wine and winemakers.

 

But one of the historically most entrenched white-dominated industries is slowly but surely giving in to the pressures of transformation and wine is becoming big in Soweto. Proof of this is the phenomenal growth of the Soweto Wine Festival which is due to host its 6th annual edition in September this year. (Yes, there will be life in South Africa after the Soccer World Cup!) If past growth is anything to go by, the festival is set to become one of South Africa's top wine festivals ... and by virtue of that one of Africa's biggest wine festivals.

 

So who are the people driving this move towards wine in a predominantly beer drinking market. The short answer would be the so-called Black Diamonds ... mostly as wine consumers. They are the emerging class of black entrepreneurs and business people who are making the most of their post-apartheid opportunities. They are mostly, but not exclusively, young, confident and on the go ... and they are going in just one direction and that is up!

 

Joe Chakela (55) and five other owners of bottle stores (as licenced liquor outlets are called locally) became involved in the wine industry shortly after the first democratic elections in South Africa in 1994. Strictly speaking, Joe and his friends are too old to be called Black Diamonds, they deserve a mention because they consider themselves as a  main driving force in bringing wine culture to South Africa's townships, especially Soweto.

 

"Up until then (1996-97), I was involved in the liquor industry owning about 5 bottle stores with my partner, Menzi Kunene. One Mk Malefane convinced me and my colleagues that the time has come now to get involved in the mainstream of liquor making as opposed to being involved in the distribution channel only. We decided to engage Distell (then Stellenbosch Farmers Wineries) to partner with us in purchasing a farm and making wine," says Joe.

 

"The biggest challenge we faced in the wine industry was getting recognition for our brand.  My favourite cultivar is Pinotage not only because it is a pleasure to drink but also , for sentimental reasons, it was our first wine. However, my favourite drink is Tukulu Chenin Blanc as I love sea-food. It goes very well with fish. My personal philosophy and perspective on wine is that to enjoy it fully, do not drink more than three glasses a day," he says.

 

"The accolades, in the form of various awards totalling no less than twelve, received by our wines, especially, Pinotage, Chenin Blanc & Organic Sangiovese have been a source of great pride and achievement for our Consortium and Distell and we look forward to reaping more rewards in future," Joe says..

 

Their initial plan was to launch a new brandy in the townships,  but then Joe and friends developed a taste for wine. Joe stopped drinking beer and switched to wine ... and today he and his colleagues are the proud owners of 55% of Tukulu wine farm in the famous Stellenbosch wine region. The minority stakeholder in Tukulu is South African liquor giant Distell and the venture is considered as an example for successful transformation in the wine industry.           

 

But back to the Black Diamonds.

 

As Black Diamonds go, Ntsiki Bayela of Stellekaya near Stellenbosch is a perfect example ... and she does not even mind being called that. Some of her more urban counterparts, perhaps the slightly older ones, are less than fond of that appellation. The 32-year-old Ntsiki is not only a consumer of wine  she makes the stuff! And judging by the number of awards the wines produced by her estate, Stellekaya in Stellenbosch,  have won since she joined them six years ago, she is a winemaker of note!               

    

Ntsiki's road to becoming a top winemaker was not an easy one.

 

She grew up as an orphan in rural KwaZulu-Natal and was raised by her aging grandmother. Ntsiki says the proudest moment of her life was not winning the scholarship that enabled her to become a vintner, nor the moment when she successfully completed her studies, but when she gave her gran a taste of the first bottle of wine she made. The fact that the old lady,  not a wine drinker, did not really like the wine, did not diminish Ntsiki's joy. She was just happy and proud that the real mother in her life could taste the fruits of her labours she sadly died some years later.

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But how does a black lady from a rural area of a province where wine making and vineyards are unheard of become a winemaker, a white male dominated industry? The simple answer is hard work at school that won her a scholarship from South African Airways. The scholarship was specifically to encourage young black people to become involved in wine making as part of the airline's wine selection process.

 

Ntsiki says they told her she could do something else if she did not like wine making ... but once she started out at the Stellenbosch University she knew that she had found her calling in life. That was despite being the only black person in her class and one of only a few women.

 

"I did experienced a fair degree bit of resistance and mistrust from my fellow students, but I didn't let that get in my way. I focused on my studies instead, and once I qualified and moved into the real world of wine making, meeting older winemakers, it all became Fun with a capital 'F'," Ntsiki says.

 

 "There is not a single aspect of the job, from the vineyard to the finished product, that I can point out as being more or less important or enjoyable than the rest. For me the joy of making wine is the whole process and all the beautiful mystery of it," she says.  

 

Ntsiki's favourite wine of the moment is Stellekaya's Orion, a Bordeaux style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. It got no less than four-and-a-half stars out of a maximum of five, from South Africa's foremost wine critic John Platter                 

And with an attitude like that, expect the awards to keep piling up in her display case. The unassuming Ntsiki is a rare Black Diamond indeed!