Press Release Summary: Asked how people react to the as-yet extraordinary idea of a black winemaker, Masayiti reports that the most common response is fascination. "Because wine is so bound up with culture, there is also sometimes a degree of protectiveness and scepticism," he adds. "I just allow the wines to speak for themselves."
Press Release Body: The Western Cape's wine industry takes a turn for the progressive
Julia Louw
As we enter the pressing room, we are enveloped by a smell so potent it is almost a taste, seemingly bypassing the nasal passages and assaulting the soft palate directly. This is the bouquet of the nascent wines of Stellekaya winery, red in tooth and claw.
There can be nothing more redolent of Old World establishment; no more evocative reminder of the legacy of centuries of colonial presence in the Cape. And yet, the person guiding us with self-possessed enthusiasm through the arcana of the ancient craft is Ntsiki Biyela, who, despite being head winemaker at Stellekaya Winery, is inescapably both female and black.
Having entered the industry fresh from high school in rural KwaZulu - a place which, in her own words, knows only bananas and sugar cane - Biyela readily admits that her feel for the world of wine, its traditions and secrets, not to mention her taste for the beverage itself, was anything but innate.
For all that, she has certainly proved an apt pupil. After graduating in oenology and viticulture at Stellenbosch University, the scholarship student secured an apprenticeship at Stellekaya (which takes its name from Italian and Xhosa words to create the suitably eclectic neologism, 'home of the stars'). Biyela has since taken over from her mentor, Peet le Roux, as head winemaker, and under her custodianship the cellar has gone from strength to strength.
As we sample 2004's Michelangelo gold medal-winning red blend, Cape Cross, its creator gaily admits that her first taste of the brew of the gods left her cold. "My family members back home still don't really enjoy wine," she says. "Although they pretend to for my sake!"
Yes, even this grand old province of the Western patriarch is receiving a Rainbow Nation makeover. There to lead us through a most welcome refresher course is Monique le Roux, captain of Andulela Experience tour group.
Andulela's Cape Winelands Tour typifies the company's unusual approach to tourism. "It's about meeting great people for us," says le Roux. "People who are breaking new ground, and people who are actively contributing to the life of the country."
And although one could justifiably wax dithyrambic about the libations produced on these hallowed grounds, it is indeed the people that make a lasting impression on this tour. Having moved on to Backsberg, where we are offered a broad selection of the farm's youngest reds and whites, I find myself compelled to recommend cellar door manager and self-styled future globally renowned wine connoisseur Danwin James, who, upon first sampling, I characterise as boisterous and flamboyant, with undertones of nuts. Best taken at room temperature, with a generous pinch of salt, James is already carving a niche for himself as an up-and-coming Western Cape sommelier, a fact which he attributes largely to the generous sponsorship of his employer.
"Michael [Back] is at that stage of his life and his career where all he wants to do is give back to the land and the people," says James. "He has changed a lot of lives."
Our pit-stop at Backsberg exemplifies a key aspect of Andulela's philosophy, namely its focus on ecological and social awareness, and its dedication to the ideal of "responsible tourism."
Backsberg cracks a well-deserved nod for its commitment to environmentally-friendly wine-farming. In addition to instituting a rigorous policy of recycling and energy conservation, and giving over two vineyards to the production of organic wines, third generation owner Michael Back has devoted 30 hectares of arable land to the growing of indigenous trees. This move serves the twofold purpose of preserving threatened plant species and, more remarkably, of sequestrating the farm's harmful carbon emissions. Its success in this regard has made Backsberg one of only three wineries on the planet to have achieved "carbon neutral" status.
Proceeding to the lush headquarters of venerable industry giant Nederburg, we meet another trailblazer of the new-look Cape Winelands in the person of South Africa's first "black white winemaker", Tariro Masayiti. Flashing his disarmingly permanent 100-watt smile, Masayiti proudly reports the exhausting-sounding achievement of having crushed 6000 tons of premium grapes in his capacity as head white winemaker this year. Like Biyela, Masayiti's introduction to the drink itself occurred concurrently with his entry into the profession.
Trained as a chemist, Masayiti landed up in the cellars of a German-owned wine farm in his native Zimbabwe. Here he developed an intimate knowledge and love of every aspect of the craft, due in large measure, he says, to having too much free time. "Chemists don't have much to do on a wine farm," he tells us. "So I started working in the cellar, and before I knew it I was giving tours."
Masayiti also qualified at Stellenbosch University - the only university on the continent which offers a degree in winemaking - and went on to cultivate his palate as assistant winemaker for Fleur de Cap before being snapped up by Nederburg.
Asked how people react to the as-yet extraordinary idea of a black winemaker, Masayiti reports that the most common response is fascination. "Because wine is so bound up with culture, there is also sometimes a degree of protectiveness and scepticism," he adds. "I just allow the wines to speak for themselves."
By the time we totter homewards at a soothing pace, the wines of this ever-splendid region have done just that.
About The Author: Andulela is a responsible tourism company in South Africa, creating sustainable development whilst entertaining tourists on an array of tours, which explore local culture and tradition.
Web Site: http://www.andulela.com
Contact Details: Andulela Experience Studio A4, Mainstream Shopping Centre Hout Bay 7806 Cape Town South Africa
2025
