Wine Knows No Race
The Transformation of the Wine Industry
The color of wine is determined only by the grapes, as many of the workers on the plantations are black. But only a few reach a higher level: their own winery.
The landscape of the South African wine industry is slowly changing in a direction that reflects the country's indigenous population, as more and more black South Africans are succeeding in what was once a white-dominated field.
41-year-old Paul Siguqa from the Western Cape, who has roots in viticulture, bought his own wine farm for 12 million Rand (approximately CHF 547,380) after 15 years of saving, France24 reports. His mother had worked for 37 years on a farm in the South African Cape winelands under the white minority apartheid regime.
Siguqa is the first black person to own a wine farm in the Franschhoek Valley, the Financial Mail reported.
The Klein Goederust Franschhoek Boutique Winery, opened in 1902, has seen a breath of fresh air since Siguqa took over.
Siguqa grew up in the area, as his mother, Nomaroma Siguqa, worked on a wine farm for around 37 years. His mother was a grounding force who also pushed him to stay in school and continue his education.
"If we want to change something in an industry, we have to be the change ourselves. And I wanted to contribute to changing an industry that is very close to my heart, namely the wine industry. When you grow up on a farm as a child of farm laborers, of black farm laborers, you are raised to be the next generation of workers for that farm. The farmer doesn't look for workers for long, the children become the next generation of workers in most cases," explains Siguqa.
Carmen Stevens of Carmen Stevens Wines, South Africa's first fully black-owned winery, said that funding for people of color in the industry remains a challenge as they do not come from a background with strong financial backing.
"If it hadn't been for Nelson Mandela, I wouldn't be a winemaker today," says Stevens.
Stevens' winery is located in the Stellenbosch community in the Western Cape.
But Stevens and Siguqa are not the only ones who have broken new ground, literally and figuratively, in the industry.
Below is a list of 12 black-owned wineries and wines in the Cape Town region, including the "House of Mandela", founded by Madiba's daughter Maki and his granddaughter Tukwini.
Edition "iol.co.za", October 25, 2022
